Bhagavatham Stories

Maitreya Muni began his response to Vidura by describing the final pastimes of Lord Krishna in this world, for he understood that Vidura's heart was aching to hear about his beloved Lord. The sage explained that Krishna's departure from the material world was not like the death of an ordinary person, forced by the laws of nature to give up the body due to old age, disease, or violence. Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source and controller of all material and spiritual energies, completely transcendental to the laws of birth, death, old age, and disease. His appearance and disappearance in the material world are voluntary acts of His own sweet will, performed to fulfill specific divine purposes. He appears to reestablish the principles of religion when they are endangered, to protect His devotees, to annihilate the demons who disturb cosmic order, and to perform transcendental pastimes that attract the hearts of all living beings.

Maitreya described in detail how Krishna, after completing His mission on earth of annihilating various demons and establishing the Pandavas on the throne of the world, returned to His capital city of Dwaraka. In Dwaraka, Krishna lived as a king surrounded by His family members, ministers, and citizens, all of whom loved Him with complete devotion. However, the residents of Dwaraka took Krishna's presence for granted, becoming somewhat accustomed to His constant availability. The Lord understood that if He remained indefinitely in His manifest form, people would begin to think of Him as an ordinary human being and might lose the sense of His supreme transcendental position. Moreover, Krishna knew that His departure would create such intense feelings of separation in the hearts of His devotees that their love for Him would increase exponentially, reaching heights of intensity that cannot be achieved through comfortable association.

The Lord arranged His own departure through a mysterious incident involving a curse pronounced by some brahmanas upon the members of the Yadu dynasty. Through Krishna's mystical arrangement, the curse became a reality, and the members of His own family fought among themselves and were destroyed. This seemingly tragic event was actually Krishna's divine plan to remove His family members from the material world and take them back to the spiritual realm with Him. After witnessing the destruction of His dynasty, Krishna sat beneath a tree in meditation, His consciousness completely absorbed in the spiritual realm. At that moment, a hunter named Jara, who was actually an agent of destiny arranged by Krishna Himself, mistook Krishna's lotus foot for a deer and shot an arrow that pierced it. This external cause of Krishna's departure was merely a facade to maintain the appearance of ordinary material laws, but in reality, Krishna chose that precise moment to withdraw His manifest presence from the material world and return to His eternal abode.

Maitreya then described the extraordinary qualities and activities that characterized Krishna's entire life on earth. From His very birth, Krishna manifested His divine nature - He was born in a prison cell where His parents were imprisoned by the demon King Kamsa, yet at the moment of His birth, He appeared in His four-armed form of Lord Vishnu before transforming into a baby. As a child in Vrindavan, He performed countless miraculous pastimes - killing demons who came to harm Him, lifting Govardhana Hill on His little finger to protect the residents from torrential rains sent by the angry demigod Indra, and engaging in loving pastimes with the cowherd boys and girls that revealed the supreme sweetness of His personality. As a youth and adult, He fought and defeated numerous powerful demons, spoke the Bhagavad Gita on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, established righteous government through the Pandavas, and demonstrated in countless ways that He is the Supreme Controller of all existence.

The sage emphasized that remembering these pastimes of Krishna is not merely an act of nostalgia or historical reflection but a powerful spiritual practice that can transform one's consciousness and awaken dormant love for God. When someone regularly hears and contemplates Krishna's pastimes with attention and devotion, several profound transformations occur in their heart. The material desires and attachments that normally dominate consciousness begin to lose their grip as the mind becomes increasingly absorbed in thoughts of Krishna. The false ego, which makes one think "I am this body" and "These things are mine," gradually dissolves as one realizes their eternal identity as Krishna's servant. Knowledge and realization that would normally require years of philosophical study dawn automatically in the heart of one who regularly remembers Krishna with love. Most importantly, pure devotion begins to awaken - the soul's natural love for Krishna, which has been dormant for countless lifetimes, begins to manifest, bringing with it unlimited spiritual satisfaction that completely transcends anything the material world can offer.

Maitreya concluded this section by explaining that Krishna's departure from the material world was not an ordinary death but a return to His eternal abode, where He continues His transcendental pastimes forever. Those who achieve Krishna's abode through pure devotion never have to return to the material world - they remain eternally in Krishna's association, engaging in loving service to Him in unlimited varieties of relationships. The material world is temporary and full of suffering, but Krishna's spiritual realm is eternal, full of knowledge, and composed entirely of spiritual bliss. The path to that destination is not through renunciation alone, not through philosophical speculation alone, not through mystic yoga alone, but through pure devotional service - hearing about Krishna, chanting His names, remembering His form, worshiping His deity, serving His devotees, and ultimately surrendering completely to His lotus feet. This chapter teaches that even though Krishna is no longer physically present in the material world, He can be accessed and realized through sincere devotional practice, and ultimately one can return to His eternal abode and live with Him forever in unlimited happiness.