Dhenukāsura Vadha

Dhenukāsura was a strong asura in the form of a huge donkey. He had taken the Tālavana, a grove of tāla (palm) trees near Vṛndāvana, and had driven out every bird and animal. Chapter 15 of the 10th Skanda of the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa tells how Balarāma killed him and how he and Kṛshṇa destroyed his kinsmen, so that the grove was given back to the gopas and the cows. The Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa tells the same episode in Pañcamāṃśa, Chapter 8.

The Tālavana and the gopa boys’ wish

The Tālavana was a great grove of tāla trees near Vṛndāvana. The trees were heavy with ripe fruit, and the smell drifted through the air. It drew the gopa boys who were herding the calves nearby. The boys went to Kṛshṇa and Balarāma and said: “Look at that forest! It smells so wonderful from the tāla fruits. May we go in and enjoy the fruits?”

But the grove was dangerous. Dhenukāsura, a strong asura in the form of an enormous donkey, had made it his home. He had driven out all the birds and animals. The fallen fruits lay rotting on the ground, because no creature dared to go in and eat them. The boys knew this and were afraid.

Balarāma kills Dhenukāsura

Balarāma went into the Tālavana first and shook the tāla trees to bring the ripe fruits down. The noise and the shaking of the trees woke Dhenukāsura. He rushed out in a rage in the form of a great wild ass, his hooves pounding the earth.

Dhenukāsura attacked Balarāma and struck at him with his hind hooves, with the force of a thunderbolt. Balarāma caught the asura by both hind legs with one hand, swung the huge body round and round, and hurled it into the top of a tall tāla tree. The blow killed Dhenukāsura. The tree shook and its fruits fell down in a shower. So Dhenukāsura fell.

The kinsmen destroyed

The relatives of Dhenukāsura, a herd of asuras in donkey form, heard the crash of their leader’s death and came charging into the forest. Some attacked Kṛshṇa, and some attacked Balarāma. The two brothers dealt with them all in the same way. They caught each one by the hind legs, swung it round, and hurled it into the tāla trees. The sight was wonderful. Palm after palm had one or more dead donkey-asuras in its crown, until the whole grove was dressed with the bodies. The gopa boys who watched were delighted.

Once the Tālavana was cleared of these asuras, the forest came alive again at once. Birds returned and began to sing, and flowers bloomed. The gopa boys walked in freely and enjoyed the ripe tāla fruits. The cows grazed in the fresh grass of the grove.

Kṛshṇa cures the poison

Chapter 15 also records, in brief, another act of compassion. Boys and cows who had earlier drunk from the Yamunā near the poisoned part where Kāliya lived were still suffering from it. Kṛshṇa cast his glance on them, and that kind look was enough to take all the poison out of their bodies.

The Vishṇu Purāṇa account

The Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa, Pañcamāṃśa, Chapter 8, tells the Dhenukāsura episode with the same main action as the Bhāgavata. After Balarāma shakes the tāla trees, the asura attacks him in donkey form. Balarāma seizes him by the hind legs and hurls him into the crown of the palm tree. The kinsman asuras are destroyed in the same way.

The Vishṇu Purāṇa dwells on how the grove was restored. Once Dhenukāsura and all his kin were destroyed, the Tālavana came alive again at once. Birds returned to nest in the trees. The fallen ripe fruits were open to the gopas for the first time. The cows could graze freely in the rich grass of the grove. The picture of the restored Tālavana is the closing picture of this episode in the Vishṇu Purāṇa.

Sources

• Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skanda, Chapter 15
• Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa, Pañcamāṃśa, Chapter 8