KRISHNA CORIOLIS#4: Lord of Mathura (7 page)

He nodded and began herding the children and cattle away. They disappeared into the woods and Krishna sensed them making their way back towards the village as quickly as they could possibly go. This time they traversed the same route sombrely, many in tears, others angry and furious with the demon; there was no singing or playing or frolicking. 

Krishna resented the asura for that more than anything else; it may not have harmed any of them but it had nevertheless instilled terror into the hearts of the innocent. For that alone, he would make this creature pay dearly. 

‘Come, Aghasura,’ he said, stepping forward. ‘You said you wanted to eat me alive, did you not? Go ahead then. Here I am. Eat me!’

Agha issued a coughing sound that might have been a peal of delighted laughter. 

Then the worm beast turned its maw towards Krishna, raising a cloud of dust. 

Krishna stepped into the giant cave-like maw. The instant he set foot onto its inner surface, the overlapping flaps closed like an iris spiralling shut. 

Its body shuddered as it began to swallow its prey, moving him forcibly lower down the length of its body to digest him. 

7

NANDA
heard the sound of the beast before he saw it. 

He was leading the main body of the clan’s herds over a hilltop when a deep coughing sound issued from somewhere ahead. The cattle shied momentarily, lowing in puzzlement. The sound was loud, louder than any animal living in these parts could possibly make, and utterly alien in its deep rasping tone. 

It was accompanied by a deep rumbling sensation, as the earth itself quivered underfoot. This upset the cattle further, causing some to bolt downhill. Gopas sprinted to head them off and the situation was well under control but Nanda’s heart ran cold as he understood this was yet another asura attack. What else could it be? Things had been so peaceful these past weeks, Yashoda and he had even begun to hope that the worst was over. Despite all that Gargacharya had said, as parents their hearts longed for their Krishna to have a chance at a normal life, playing and frolicking like any normal young gopa. 

But now, here was yet another reminder that the devas had a very different fate in store for him. 

That was when he saw the beast. 

It rose up in a cloud of dust, towering above the tops of the trees in the wooded area to the north-east of Vrindavan where his people seldom ventured. Nanda had explored these parts himself when they first came to dwell here and had written off this region as being inhospitable and uninhabitable. He had had no idea that beyond those dense woods lay several lush green pastures. It had sounded like a miracle when he received news that Krishna and Balarama had found those pastures. But now, looking at the creature that rose from the woods, he wondered if it had indeed been a miracle or a curse. 

The creature that towered above the trees resembled an earthworm freshly emerged from the ground, shedding dust and earth and stones from its grimy body. It was enormous, the size of a hundred sala tree trunks clumped together. Rearing up, it swayed from side to side ponderously, like any subterranean creature unfamiliar with the world above the surface. It appeared to be blind, he noted, for he could see no eyes or any other discernible organs. Its maw opened then, wide enough to accommodate the entire herd that roved before Nanda, several thousand heads and more. Its body length stirred sluggishly between the trees, cracking trunks and shaking entire fruit groves till they shed their ripe loads, and he saw that its sinuous body stretched for miles. He clutched his crook tightly, hardly able to comprehend the existence of such a beast, let alone imagine his little Krishna confronting it. His breath caught in his throat at the very thought. What epic new threat was this?

Then the beast’s maw turned towards the hilltop on which Nanda stood, and for a brief moment he could see within that gigantic oral orifice. 

He saw the tiny dark form of his beloved Krishna, standing inside the mouth of the beast. 

The father in him wanted to cry out and run to his son’s aid. But even in that brief glimpse, he saw Krishna’s stance, as steady and balanced as if standing on solid ground playing his flute. He saw also the deep glow of powerful blue light that exuded from Krishna’s body, spreading outwards to illuminate the dark maw which attempted to consume him and was reminded that this was not merely his adoptive son, it was Vishnu Incarnate. 

Then the giant worm swayed and crashed down to the earth once more. Raising a great cloud of dust and debris, it plunged underground, the entire hillside and countryside shuddering as it burrowed its way through the ground, seeking to bury itself deep within its natural habitat. Trees were uprooted and knocked off, trunks split, the air filled with dust and debris. Cattle lowed and reared and turned their heads in alarm, and it was only through the efforts of his expert gopas and gopis that a stampeded was prevented. 

In a moment, the entire thicket ahead was concealed from view by the rising cloud of dust. The earth underfoot continued to shudder mightily and from somewhere deep inside, the sounds of the beast could still be heard, making that peculiar trumpet-like sound of distress or rage, or perhaps both. 

Yashoda came up beside him, breathless from having run too quickly. He glanced back and saw her sisters and the rest of their clan approaching as fast as they were able. His wife put a hand on his arm, clutching it tightly. He felt her fear and anxiety through her tight clasp, knowing her every gesture well enough to read her heart’s innermost secrets without her having to say a word. 

She read him as easily, not saying a word for a moment, just staring at the enormous cloud of dust drifting slowly in their direction. He was glad she had missed seeing the beast itself. Yashoda was a strong person but the sight of that creature was enough to give any grown Vrishni nightmares for the rest of their life. 

Finally, she spoke, putting into words the inevitable question. All around them the other gopas and gopis were pointing and staring and talking in hushed anxious voices. 

‘Krishna?’ she asked, her tone suggesting she already knew the answer but had to ask anyway. 

He gestured at the cloud ahead. There was no need to say more, even if he could describe such a sight as he had just witnessed. 

He felt her hand tighten on his arm, squeezing hard enough to choke off circulation. He let it stay, saying nothing. 

They stood like that, watching, for a long while. There was nothing they could do except wait. And pray. 

8

KRISHNA
was in the maw of the beast. From the sensations rippling through its body he understood that it was attempting to burrow deep inside the earth. Its intention was plain. Burrow into the ground, swallow and digest him. Any normal human would suffocate from lack of air. Even if he survived, he would be crushed by the grinding maw, then have his flesh dissolved by the beast’s powerful intestinal acids. 

But of course Krishna was no normal human. 

He felt the shuddering sensations of Aghasura breaking through packed earth, shattering stone and igneous formations as it burrowed. He felt also the vibrations of its segmented body underfoot as it shifted its own flesh and tissue, carrying him deeper into its innards, like a moving floor that slid food down its digestive tract. From all around him he felt and smelled the fetid odor of rank juices oozing. The ground underfoot grew squishy and squamous, the air rancorous, and he felt himself spattered from all sides with disgusting fluids. 

Aghasura was attempting to digest him. 

Like any worm of any size, the demon was basically one long digestive tract. Its entire being was devoted to the single-minded act of feeding and processing food. The first part of the process was to shower the digested prey with stomach acids which would break it down into its constituent parts, all the while pushing the food further down the length of its body. Like any large creature, it probably needed to feed constantly. He wondered how it found sufficient nourishment. 

That answer came soon enough. Krishna heard and felt the worm-demon slowing in its downwards progress, then the distinctive sound caused by the unwinding of its gigantic maw as it opened up, followed by peculiar animal sounds of protest and outrage. The maw closed again and he felt the presence of other living creatures nearby. He willed his crook to glow, issuing blue light, and saw a pair of blind sluglike things squirming restlessly as they came to terms with their fate. He saw as well as heard and smelled a fresh barrage of stomach juices spatter the new arrivals, and heard their low grunting sounds of discomfort as the acids began to eat through their hides and flesh. 

He willed his crook to dim again, eliminating the nightmarish glimpse. Evidently, Aghasura had not been content with swallowing him alive. It had decided to pause and consume some more food, some manner of subterranean fauna the existence of which was neither known or imagined above ground. 

Soon the grunts of the new prey subsided as they began to succumb to the combined lack of air as well as the stomach acids. 

Krishna decided it was time to turn the tables on his new tormentor. 

He willed his own body to exude light, brilliant glowing blue light, produced by the cells of his body using the energy of brahman. He increased the glow steadily, lighting himself up until he glowed as brightly as a small sun. The two unfortunates wallowing in their predator’s tract saw the glow of brahman shakti exuding their fellow prey and emitted sounds of alarm at this blinding effulgence. 

Other subterranean creatures clinging to the sides and top of underground caverns through which Aghasura burrowed his way relentlessly also observed the glow bursting out from the fore part of the giant worm as it rolled past. Blue light exploded outwards, like a firefly trapped inside a closed palm, its light visible through gaps in the fingers of the holder. 

Krishna increased the brahman shakti until he felt the darkness around him dispelled by his own brightness. He continued to increase the intensity of his effulgence, bathing the worm demon’s insides with the heat of his divine energies. The effect was immediate: Aghasura’s progress slowed as the worm demon began to feel the scorching heat of a god incarnate’s wrath. 

9

Balarama
and the other children paused and looked back. 

The cloud of dust produced by the plunging worm demon still hung in the still air above the woods. They were some miles away from that place now and Balarama judged them to be safe from immediate threat. 

He had done as Krishna had instructed, without question or complaint. But he still resented having to leave his brother to battle this new menace alone. His
younger
brother. It went against every cell of his being; why else had he been put upon this mortal plane if not to protect and serve his younger sibling? 

True, he was doing so by obeying Krishna’s wishes and herding the children to safety. But it was not the same thing. Besides, Balarama was a fighter, a warrior, a yoddha. Until he matched strength and arms and wits with an opponent, he was not complete. His frustration was not directed Krishna, who had had no choice but to ask Balarama to lead the children to safety. It was at circumstances: he longed to be the one doing the fighting as he had when calf demon had attacked. 

As if sensing his conflicting emotions, Radha spoke up beside him. 

‘He will triumph, will he not?’ 

Balarama answered without doubt: ‘Krishna always triumphs.’

But he clenched his fists in frustration, wishing he were there in the thick of the fight, alongside Krishna. 

Radha glanced at him. ‘You would be with him, fighting by his side.’

He nodded. 

‘He is your younger brother, you wish to protect him.’

Balarama sighed. ‘Krishna does not need protecting. He protects us all. All worlds are in his shadow. He is the Protector of all Creation.’

‘And yet you are his older brother and would fight for him.’

‘To the death,’ he agreed. 

She was silent for a moment. ‘It must be strange, to have a younger brother who is a god so powerful, the great Protector Vishnu himself made incarnate in human form.’

Balarama shrugged. ‘He is what he is. He is Krishna.’

Radha nodded at the wisdom of this simple statement. ‘He is Krishna.’

They fell silent then as a new rumbling filled their inner ears, sensed rather than heard. The ground trembled as something momentous approached, then, with an explosion of dust and trees and shattered trees, Aghasura breached the surface of the earth again, in a spot about two miles from the place where he had attacked the children. All the watching children exclaimed in horror as they viewed the sheer size and scale of the gargantuan clearly. The beast was enormous, towering hundreds of yards high as he exploded from the ground, shedding boulders and rocks and roots by the ton. 

Aghasura’s body was blazing with blue light. 

The light originated from a spot somewhere to the fore of the worm demon’s length, exuding outwards. It was blindingly intense, visible even in the bright sunlight, and shone out with an effulgence that seemed to emerge like swordpoints of blue flame from a hundred different points on the creature’s body. As if the light were tearing its way out of the worm’s body, bursting forth. It was clear that the blue light caused the worm considerable pain, for it thrashed and squirmed in the air, thudding to the ground with earth-shuddering impact again and again, in a futile attempt to squash the source of the light. Its body convulsed and quivered, undulating and twisting.