Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 10.34 Summary

This chapter describes how Lord Sri Krsna saved His father Nanda from the clutches of a serpent and delivered a Vidyadhara named Sudarsana from the curse of the Angirasa sages.

One day Nanda Maharaja and the other cowherd men placed their family members on their bullock carts and went to the Ambikavana forest to worship Lord Siva. After bathing in the Sarasvati River and worshiping Lord Sadasiva, a form of Lord Visnu, they decided to spend the night in the forest. As they slept, a hungry serpent came and began to swallow Nanda Maharaja. Terrified, Nanda cried out in distress, "O Krsna! O my son, please save this surrendered soul!" The cowherd men immediately awoke and began beating the serpent with wooden torches, but the serpent would not release Nanda. Then Lord Krsna came and touched the serpent with His lotus foot. The serpent was immediately freed from his reptilian body and appeared in his original form as a demigod. He told them about his previous identity and described how he had been cursed by a group of sages. Then he offered his homage at the lotus feet of Sri Krsna and, on the Lord's order, returned to his own abode.

Later, during the Dola-purnima festival, Sri Krsna and Baladeva enjoyed pastimes in the forest with the young women of Vraja. The girlfriends of Baladeva and those of Krsna joined together and sang about Their transcendental qualities. When the two Lords became absorbed in singing to the point of apparent intoxication, a servant of Kuvera's named Sankhacuda boldly came forward and began abducting the gopis. The young girls called out, "Krsna, please save us!" and He and Rama began to chase after Sankhacuda. "Don't be afraid!" Krsna called out to the gopis. In fear of the Lords, Sankhacuda left the gopis aside and ran for his life. Krsna chased after him, swiftly approached him and with a blow of His fist removed Sankhacuda's jewel, together with his head. Then Krsna brought the jewel back and presented it to Lord Baladeva.

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Copyright (c) The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari