Vasudeva Yajña

At Samantapañcaka, after the bathing at the time of the solar eclipse, the greatest ṛshis (seers) of the age come to see Kṛshṇa and Balarāma. Kṛshṇa teaches that the company of a true sādhu (holy person) purifies more than a visit to a tīrtha (holy place). Vasudeva, Kṛshṇa’s father, asks the ṛshis how a person burdened by karma can be cleansed. They tell him to perform a great yajña (fire ritual), and he does. During these days Vasudeva also meets Nanda, who stays three months and then returns to Vraja.

The ṛshis arrive and Kṛshṇa’s teaching

At Samantapañcaka, in the days after the eclipse bathing, the greatest ṛshis of the age arrived. They were Śrī Śuka, Vyāsa, Viśvāmitra, Kaṇva, Vasishṭha, Nārada, Mārkaṇḍeya, Paraśurāma, Bhṛgu, Bṛhaspati and many others from the various regions of Bhārata. Kṛshṇa and Balarāma received each of them with great honour. They rose from their seats, welcomed them with folded hands, washed their feet and offered arghya (water of welcome).

Kṛshṇa then taught the gathered Yādavas and kings why the darśana (sight) of great sādhus is even more powerful than a visit to a tīrtha. He said:

“Tīrthas purify by their power, the gathered tapas (austerity) and holiness of the sacred place. But the body, mind and words of a great sādhu have themselves become a tīrtha, through years of inner purification and constant dwelling in the ātmā (the self). A tīrtha purifies the one who bathes in it. A sādhu purifies at once, by his gaze, his touch and his speech. When we have both together, as at this moment when the greatest of sādhus and the greatest of tīrthas are present together, the puṇya (merit) is beyond measure. But if one must choose, the sādhu is greater.”

Vasudeva’s question on karma

Vasudeva was Kṛshṇa’s father. He had suffered years of imprisonment under Kaṃsa and had seen wonderful events all his life. He now came to the assembly of ṛshis with a question that had weighed on his heart. He said:

“O great ṛshis, I know you to be all-knowing. Please answer a question that troubles my heart. A person gathers karma, good and bad, through the course of life. Even those who do right acts sometimes gain pāpa (sin) without knowing it. What is the means of purification? How does a person whose heart longs for dharma cleanse himself fully and reach moksha (liberation)?”

The ṛshis replied: “O Vasudeva, you ask this not because you do not know, but because you wish to set an example for the world. For a person of your position, the way laid down to wear away the last of karma and purify the mind is the performance of yajña. This is not an ordinary fire ritual. It is the great yajñas, done with proper ṛtviks (priests), proper mantras, proper dakshiṇā (gifts to the priests) and the right inner attitude. The fire of yajña burns karma as fire burns wood. Perform the great yajñas here at this sacred Samantapañcaka, and your purpose will be fully reached.”

The great yajña of Vasudeva

Vasudeva was content and firm in his resolve, and he undertook the great yajña at Samantapañcaka. With Kṛshṇa’s blessing, and in the presence of all the ṛshis, the yajña was arranged on a grand scale. The greatest ṛshis served as ṛtviks. The ladles, altars and vessels were of gold, and everything was of the highest quality. The offerings were made with care and śraddhā (faith).

At the end of the yajña, Vasudeva gave very large dakshiṇā to all the brāhmaṇas and ṛtviks. He gave great quantities of gold, cattle, garments and land. The gathered ṛshis gave their blessings and prayed for Vasudeva’s welfare. The whole gathering shone with the combined power of the tīrtha, the sādhus, the yajña and the presence of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa himself.

Nanda’s stay and the meeting of the two fathers

Nanda had come from Vraja with the gopas and gopīs, and he stayed at Samantapañcaka during the weeks when the yajña was prepared and performed. Vasudeva had had no chance to meet Nanda properly in all the troubled years since Kṛshṇa left Gokula. Now he found time to sit with him.

The two men met with deep feeling. One was the birth father, who had wept when his son was carried away in the night to be saved from Kaṃsa. The other was the foster father, who had raised that son with complete love for twelve years and was then left without him. They spoke of Kṛshṇa as fathers speak. Vasudeva was full of wonder at the divine nature that he could not fully understand. Nanda was full of the simple warmth of one who had seen Kṛshṇa learn to walk, who had fed him butter and had been bitten by his small teeth.

Kṛshṇa and Balarāma spent time with Nanda, the gopas and the gopīs, with great affection. The queens of Dvārakā honoured Yaśodā deeply. Gifts were exchanged.

After three months Nanda decided that he must go back to Vraja. Vasudeva gave Nanda and all the people of Vraja very rich gifts, out of gratitude and love. These were garments, ornaments, gold, decorated chariots and the best of everything. Kṛshṇa and Balarāma went with them for some distance, holding their hands and walking beside them. When the time of parting came, there were tears on every face.

Nanda returned to Gokula carrying Vasudeva’s gifts and also the fresh memory of Kṛshṇa’s voice and Kṛshṇa’s embrace, which would sustain him for the rest of his life.

Sources

• Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skanda, Chapter 84