![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/THLbAWm.jpg\")
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By Gauranga Darshan Das<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Ghosts do not have gross bodies. But they do have subtle bodies. Gross bodies are made of earth, water, fire, air, and ether. Subtle bodies are made of mind, intelligence, and ego. Both of these bodies are material and all individuals in this world are covered by these two types of bodies. Subtle bodies store all kinds of desires and past impressions that induce the actions of gross bodies. <\/span><\/p>\n People who are too sinful cannot get a gross body but roam around invisibly in subtle bodies with unfulfilled desires. Such body-less beings are called ghosts. Sometimes ghosts try to fulfill their desires by possessing<\/i> the bodies of common people. Or they enter some gross objects to execute their evil plans. Here is the story of one such ghost inspired by a malicious thought to kill God who was in the form of a baby. <\/span><\/p>\n Pride Made Him A Ghost <\/span><\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Utkaca was the son of a great demon named Hira\u1e47y\u0101k\u1e63a. He had a huge body and was very powerful. Any <\/span>material <\/span>good quality could potentially induce false pride in a person to a small or great extent. So Utkaca was also proud of his strength. <\/span><\/p>\n Once Utkaca went to the hermitage of a sage named Loma\u015ba, who had studied a hundred lessons in morality from Lord Brahma. For no reason, Utkaca started breaking trees there, being puffed up of his strong body. Seeing him creating an unnecessary disturbance, sage Loma\u015ba cursed him, \u201cO evil-hearted one, become bodyless!\u201d Utkaca\u2019s body at once fell away like a snake\u2019s old skin falls away. He became a ghostly being without a body (some say that he got an invisible body made of air). Such is the result of material pride and offense to saintly persons. <\/span><\/p>\n Utkaca realized his mistake, fell at Loma\u015ba\u2019s feet, and begged him, \u201cO great sage, I did not know your power. Please forgive me and give me a body.\u201d Loma\u015ba became pacified quickly and said, \u201cLord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s foot will liberate you from this ghostly existence.\u201d Saintly devotees have the power both to curse and bless. Even the anger of saintly persons is a blessing. Because of Loma\u015ba\u2019s curse, Utkaca would be getting an opportunity to be touched by the divine lotus foot of the Supreme God K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.<\/span><\/p>\n Fear Haunted Him Like A Ghost <\/span><\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Later Utkaca, wandering as a ghost, made friends with another demoniac person named Ka\u1e41sa. Ka\u1e41sa was the cruel maternal uncle of Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. He was madly in search of baby K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a because he had once heard an omen that he would be killed by the eighth son of his sister Devaki, who was Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Himself.<\/span><\/p>\n Fear of death, haunting him like a ghost, Ka\u1e41sa was always immersed in the thoughts of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a and tried to search for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. He became completely K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a conscious, not with devotion, but with intense fear. Interestingly, even such fearful remembrance<\/i> of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, when it leads to complete absorption<\/i> in K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, can liberate a person. That is K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s special mercy on demons. <\/span><\/p>\n Ka\u1e41sa dispatched many of his demoniac friends to find and kill the Lord, his future killer! Instigated by Ka\u1e41sa, Utkaca also came to Gokula to kill K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, who then was a three months old baby. The demon (asura<\/i>) entered a household cart (\u015aaka\u1e6da<\/i>) in Nanda Mah\u0101r\u0101ja\u2019s courtyard. The cart was loaded with many vessels made of gold, silver, and brass. In Sanskrit, a cart is called \u015aaka\u1e6da<\/i> and a demon is called asura<\/i>. Therefore, Utkaca was also called \u015aaka\u1e6dasura \u2013 the cart demon. No one noticed \u015aaka\u1e6dasura as he was invisible. He waited for an opportunity to kill K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.<\/span><\/p>\n A Ceremony Led By Women<\/span><\/b><\/b><\/p>\n When K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a was just three months old, He attempted to rise and turn around on His own for the first time. This stage of a child\u2019s growth was celebrated as the Utth\u0101na<\/i> ceremony. In the Vedic culture, a child\u2019s birth or maintenance was never a burden for the parents, who joyfully celebrated all the significant stages of a child\u2019s growth. Certain purificatory rituals were performed even before conceiving the child and when the child was in the mother\u2019s womb. <\/span><\/p>\n The birth ceremony was an event led by the father. Utth\u0101na<\/i> ceremony was an event led by mothers. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s birth was celebrated by Nanda Mah\u0101r\u0101ja as Nandotsava with the assistance of Mother Ya\u015bod\u0101. Utth\u0101na<\/i> ceremony was celebrated by Ya\u015bod\u0101 with the assistance of Nanda. In a cultured society, mother and father have specific roles to play in raising the child with cooperation from each other. Such balanced care of parents nourishes and ensures the child\u2019s physical and emotional development. <\/span><\/p>\n Mother Ya\u015bod\u0101 led the Utth\u0101na<\/i> ceremony on the auspicious day when the moon was in Rohini constellation which was also K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s birth star. Being an expert in all ceremonies, Ya\u015bod\u0101 did abhi\u1e63eka<\/i>(holy bathing) of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a assisted by other motherly gop\u00e9s<\/i> of Gokula. After completing the bathing ceremony, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a was rubbed dry by Ya\u015bod\u0101 and the gop\u012bs<\/i> and He was anointed with gorocana <\/i>(an aromatic medicinal substance obtained from a cow) and dressed up nicely. <\/span><\/p>\n Ya\u015bod\u0101 received the br\u0101hma\u1e47as<\/i> carrying her blue boy dressed in red garments and decorated with golden ornaments. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s lotus eyes were decorated with black ointment and He wore a glittering moon necklace made of lion nail. Ya\u015bod\u0101 offered respects to the devatas.<\/i> She liberally distributed grains, wealth, clothes, flowers, and cows in charity to the br\u0101hma\u1e47as<\/i>, who chanted mantras<\/i> to invoke auspiciousness. <\/span><\/p>\n Body-less Ghost Attains a Spiritual Body <\/span><\/b><\/b><\/p>\n At that time, little K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a felt sleepy. So, Ya\u015bod\u0101 carried Him to the courtyard. Being an affectionate mother, anxious for her child\u2019s comfort, she carefully held Him motionlessly in her lap fearing that He would wake up. She made K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a lay down under the household cart (\u015aaka\u1e6da<\/i>) in which ghost Utkaca had entered. She also lay down along with the child until He was asleep. When she saw that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a was fast asleep, she got up very gently and went back to attend the guests. Some small children who were playing around saw K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a peacefully sleeping. <\/span><\/p>\n Because of \u015aaka\u1e6dasura, the wheels of the cart began to sink into the earth and the cart\u2019s height started decreasing. \u015aaka\u1e6dasura intended to fall on K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a and kill Him. But baby K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a got up from His sleep. Absorbed in the mood of an infant, He began crying for mother\u2019s milk. Ya\u015bod\u0101 was busy exchanging pleasantries and giving ornaments, garlands, sandalwood pulp (candana<\/i>), oil and sindhura<\/i> to the village women. Therefore, she couldn\u2019t hear the child crying from hunger. As it is natural for babies, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a angrily threw His little legs upward in the air. The red sole of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s soft foot touched the cart with the gesture of a kick. <\/span><\/p>\n Although K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s foot was as tender as a newly grown leaf, His kick turned the cart upside down. His limbs were inconceivably potent, the cart got dismantled completely; its wheels and axle were dislocated; its handle was broken and all the utensils on it were scattered here and there. Thus, the demon in the cart died. \u015aaka\u1e6dasura had entered the cart invisibly and was destroyed invisibly. No one had noticed him. But the children saw that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a kicked the cart which then overturned. <\/span><\/p>\n When the cart broke into pieces, \u015aaka\u1e6dasura left his subtle ghostly body and attained a pure spiritual body. He respectfully bowed down before Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. In a chariot pulled by a hundred horses, he went to K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s abode of Goloka V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana in the spiritual world. Such is the mercy of the Supreme Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, especially in V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana. <\/span><\/p>\n \u015aaka\u1e6dasura represents a load-carrying mentality arising out of old and new bad habits, from this life and previous lives. These habits include lethargy, dullness, and false pride. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a removes this contamination by kicking them aside when we take His shelter by performing bhakti<\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s Uncompromising Sweetness <\/span><\/b><\/b><\/p>\n K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a didn\u2019t manifest a gigantic form or use any weapons to kill \u015aaka\u1e6dasura. Just the kick of an infant baby was sufficient. This is the sweetness of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s childhood pastimes. To subdue King Bali, Lord V\u0101mana manifested His TrivikR\u0101ma form and extended His foot to the greatest height to penetrate the covering of the universe. To kill gigantic Hira\u00ebyaka\u00e7ipu, the Lord assumed the special body of N\u1e5bsi\u1e41hadeva. In other incarnations, the Lord had to exert some energy according to the time and circumstances. But as K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, He exhibited unlimited potency without compromising His form and mood as a child. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s loving dealings with His mother, father, and friends in Gokula were a priority for Him and the death of demons happened as a byproduct. The dead demons were delivered from their degraded life and attained better destinations or even spiritual liberation. <\/span><\/p>\n K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a wanted the attention of His mother when He woke up from His sleep. Because the sound of His crying didn\u2019t catch Ya\u015bod\u0101\u2019s attention, He seemed to make a louder sound by kicking the cart and thus calling His mother there at once. As a result, \u015aaka\u1e6dasura also died! This rare display of the power of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a which does not contradict the sweetness of His childhood pastimes shows the completeness of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. Lord R\u00e4ma showed only human-like pastimes during His childhood. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, however, showed his powers in harmony with his sweet human-like pastimes. <\/span><\/p>\n Love Covers Logic <\/span><\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Everyone saw the dismantled cart and wondered, \u201cHow did the cart turn over by itself?\u201d But the children who were looking at K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a attracted by His sweetness, asserted, \u201cK\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a kicked the cart and it fell.\u201d But the elders neglected the childish talk thinking, \u201cHow could the kick of a three-month-old baby overturn such a heavily loaded cart!\u201d An ordinary child could have been injured in many ways, but K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a enjoyed the dismantling of the cart and was safe. The gopas<\/i> and gop\u00e9s<\/i> thought that the accident took place because of the bad influence of some planet or some ghost. <\/span><\/p>\n The cowherd community was always accustomed to seeing K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a as their beloved child and object of their affection, and not as God with powers. This time the elders didn\u2019t see K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s powers. But in the later pastimes, they saw K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a manifesting His opulence right in front of their eyes when He subdued K\u0101liya, swallowed forest fire, lifted Govardhan Hill, and so on. Yet, overcome by the bliss of prema<\/i> that covered everything else, they always thought K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a as their son. Every so-called calamity that came upon K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a only increased their love and didn\u2019t induce any reverence in them for Him. <\/span><\/p>\n Later strong gopas<\/i> easily restored the large and heavy cart. They worshipped the cart using ku\u015ba<\/i> grass and sacred water along with rice mixed with yogurt since the cart represented the main shelter of cowherds, abode of Lak\u1e63m\u012b, and storehouse of accumulated wealth.<\/span><\/p>\n Nanda Mah\u0101r\u0101ja had perfectly qualified br\u0101hma\u1e47as<\/i> chant mantras<\/i> for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s protection from bad elements and ghosts. Whenever there was some danger or some inauspicious occurrence, it was the custom to have br\u0101hma\u1e47as<\/i> chant Vedic hymns to counteract it. Being unaware of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s powers, br\u0101hma\u1e47as<\/i> gave Him blessings. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a then drank the milk of Ya\u015bod\u0101 happily, giving happiness to her. <\/span><\/p>\n Note: This article is based on the seventh chapter of the tenth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam and the commentaries of Srila Prabhupada, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur, and Srila Jiva Goswami. Details of \u015aaka\u1e6dasura\u2019s past life are based on Garga Samhita.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Once Utkaca went to the hermitage of a sage named Loma\u015ba, who had studied a hundred lessons in morality from Lord Brahma. For no reason, Utkaca started breaking trees there, being puffed up of his strong body. Seeing him creating an unnecessary disturbance, sage Loma\u015ba cursed him, \u201cO evil-hearted one, become bodyless!\u201d Utkaca\u2019s body at once fell away like a snake\u2019s old skin falls away. He became a ghostly being without a body (some say that he got an invisible body made of air). Such is the result of material pride and offense to saintly persons. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=87989"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87989\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87991,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87989\/revisions\/87991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=87989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=87989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=87989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/dOBweKZ.jpg)
By Gauranga Darshan Das<\/strong><\/p>\n