Harivamsa

6 - śakaṭabhaṅgapūtanāvadhau - Elimination of Sakatasura and Putana

vaiśaṁpāyana uvāca

tatra tasyāsataḥ kālaḥ sumahānatyavartata |

govraje nandagopasya ballavatvaṁ prakurvataḥ ||2-6-1

vaiśaṁpāyana said: As nandagopa stayed in govraja, working as a cowherd, many days passed.

dārakau kṛtanāmānau vavṛdhāte sukhaṁ ca tau |

jyeṣṭhaḥ saṁkarṣaṇo nāma kanīyānkṛṣṇa eva tu ||2-6-2

The elder boy was named saṁkarṣaṇa and the younger boy, kṛṣṇa. The boys who were named thus, grew up there comfortably.

meghakṛṣṇastu kṛṣṇo'bhūddehāntaragato hariḥ |

vyavardhata gavāṁ madhye sāgarasya ivāmbudaḥ |2-6-3

kṛśṇa, in whose body hari had entered, had the complexion of dark (rain) cloud. He grew up among the cows like a rain cloud in the sea.

śakaṭasya tvadhaḥ suptaṁ kadācitputragṛddhinī |

yaśodā taṁ samutsṛjya jagāma yamunāṁ nadīm ||2-6-4

One day, yashoda who was fond of her son, left the child sleeping under a cart and went to the river yamunā.

śiśulīlāṁ tataḥ kurvansa hastacharaṇau kṣipan |

ruroda madhuraṁ kṛṣṇaḥ pādāvūrdhvaṁ prasārayan ||2-6-5

kṛṣṇa started playing by throwing his hands and legs into the air. He cried in a sweet voice, shaking his legs up.

sa tatraikena pādena śakaṭaṁ paryavartayat |

nyubjaṁ payodharākāṅkṣī cakāra ca ruroda ca ||2-6-6

With one leg, kṛṣṇa kicked the cart and it overturned. Then he started crying for milk.

etasminnantare prāptā yaśodā bhayaviklavā |

snātā prasravadigdhāṅgī baddhāvatseva saurabhī ||2-6-7

Meanwhile, yaśodā returned after bathing. She was afraid. She was anxious to breast feed her child like surabhī (mother cow).

sā dadarsha viparyastaṁ śakaṭaṁ vāyunā vinā |

hāheti kṛtvā tvaritā dārakaṁ jagṛhe tadā ||2-6-8

She saw that the cart has overturned without any wind. Crying aloud, she quickly picked up the child.

na sā bubodha tattvena śakaṭaṁ parivartitam |

svasti te dārakāyeti prītā bhītāpi sābhavat ||2-6-9

She did not understand how the cart was overturned. She was afraid, but she was pleased and wished good for the child.

kiṁ tu vakṣyati te putra pitā paramakopanaḥ |

tvayyadhaḥ śakaṭe supte akasmāccha viloḍite ||2-6-10

She said:-->My son, what will your father say, who will be very angry? You were sleeping under the cart and it broke suddenly".

kiṁ me snānena duḥsnānaṁ kiṁ ca me gamane nadīm |

paryaste śakaṭe putra yā tvāṁ paśyāmyapāvṛtam ||2-6-11

Seeing you lying under the overturned cart (if you had been crushed under it), what is the use for me in taking bath as well as going to the river?

etasminnantare gobhirājagāma vanecharaḥ |

kāṣāyavāsasī bibhrannandagopo vrajāntikam ||2-6-12

Meanwhile, nandagopa along with cows and calves, returned to vraja from the forest. He was wearing kāṣāya dress.

sa dadarsha viparyastaṁ bhinnabhāṇḍaghaṭīghaṭam |

apāstadhūrvibhinnākṣaṁ śakaṭaṁ cakramaulinam ||2-6-13

He saw the broken pitchers and pots. The cart was lying upturned with its wheels up and axle broken.

bhītastvaritamāgatya sahasā sāśrulocanaḥ |

api me svasti putrāyetyasakṛdvacanaṁ vadan ||2-6-14

He was extremely afraid. He went quickly inside with tears falling from his eyes, saying "is my son well?"

pibantaṁ stanamālakṣya putraṁ svastho'bravītpunaḥ |

vṛṣayuddhaṁ vinā kena paryastaṁ śakaṭaṁ mama ||2-6-15

He became composed seeing his son drinking his mother’s breast milk. Then he asked, "without a fight between the bulls, how did the cart overturn ?"

pratyuvāca yaśodā taṁ bhītā gadgadabhāṣiṇī |

na vijānāmyahaṁ kena śakaṭaṁ parivartitam || 2-6-16

yaśodā, frightened, replied with a choked voice : "I do not know who overturned the cart".

ahaṁ nadīṁ gatā saumya chailaprakṣālanārthinī |

āgatā ca viparyastamapaśyaṁ śakaṭaṁ bhuvi ||2-6-17

O gentle one, I had gone to the river to wash my clothes. On returning, I saw the cart overturned on the ground.

tayoḥ kathayatorevamabruvaṁstatra dārakāḥ |

anena śiśunā yānametatpādena loḍitam ||2-6-18

While they were talking like this, some boys said: This child overturned the cart with his feet.

asmābhiḥ saṁpatadbhiścha dṛṣṭametadyadṛcchayā |

nandagopastu tacchrutvā vismayaṁ paramaṁ yayau ||2-6-19

We came here by chance and we saw it. Hearing this, nandagopa was greatly surprised.

prahṛṣṭaścaiva bhītaścha kimetaditi cintayan |

na ca te śraddhadhurgopāḥ sarve mānuṣabuddhayaḥ ||2-6-20

He was happy at first. He was afraid thinking, "what is all this". The gopa-s, all of human intellect, did not believe what they heard.

āścaryamiti te sarve vismayotphullalochanāḥ |

sve sthāne śakaṭaṁ prāpya cakrabandhamakākrayan ||2-6-21

All of them considered this as a wonder. Their eyes became wide open with wonder. They put the cart upright in its place with the wheels.

vaiśaṁpāyana uvāca

kasyachittvatha kālasya śakunī veṣadhāriṇī |

dhātrī kaṁsasya bhojasya pūtaneti pariśrutā ||2-6-22