Vṛndāvana Arrival, Vatsāsura and Bakāsura

In Chapter 11 of the 10th Skanda, the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa tells of three joined events. The gopas of Gokula move to the forest of Vṛndāvana on the advice of Upānanda. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa kills the asura Vatsāsura, who came as a calf. Then he kills the asura Bakāsura, who came as a huge crane. The chapter also tells of the fruit-seller and of Nanda giving Kṛshṇa and Balarāma the work of herding cows.

Upānanda’s advice and the move to Vṛndāvana

Upānanda was an elder brother of Nanda, a wise and experienced man among the gopas. He called an assembly of the community and spoke with urgency.

He said: “This settlement is troubled by bad omens. The asuri Pūtanā was killed here. The whirlwind Tṛṇāvarta carried the child away. The arjuna trees fell with great force in the courtyard. All these show that this place holds danger. The forest of Vṛndāvana is a land of green pasture and plenty of water for the cows, rich in every resource for the gopas. Let us go there without delay, before something worse happens to us here.”

The gopas agreed. They loaded their goods, yoked their carts, gathered their cows and set out. The caravan went through the forest. The children and women rode in the carts, and the men drove the cattle. The gopas blew their conch-horns and played flutes on the way, the cows lowed, and the calves ran alongside.

They reached the forest of Vṛndāvana and found it just as Upānanda had said: beautiful and green, full of birds, flowers and clear streams. They camped there, and Vṛndāvana became the new home of Gokula.

Vatsāsura Vadha

Kṛshṇa and Balarāma were watching the calves graze on the bank of the Yamunā. An asura sent by Kaṃsa came there in the form of a calf (vatsa). He mixed with the other calves, meaning to reach Kṛshṇa from inside the herd.

Kṛshṇa saw at once that this was no ordinary calf. Its bearing, its movements and its walk all showed something different. Without telling anyone, Kṛshṇa walked casually up to the calf and caught it by the hind legs. He swung it round in a circle with ease and threw it with great force up into a nearby tāla (palm) tree. The asura died on impact, and his body crashed down from the upper branches. The calves and Balarāma saw it. Balarāma smiled, knowing what had happened.

Bakāsura Vadha

Soon after, the boys were playing near the Yamunā. A huge crane (baka) appeared, many times larger than any natural bird. His bill was like a pair of swords and his throat like a cave. This was Bakāsura, an asura sent by Kaṃsa.

The great crane opened his bill and swallowed Kṛshṇa whole, so that the boy was inside the asura’s throat. But the great heat of the divine body of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa could not be borne in the asura’s stomach. It was like swallowing a living fire. Baka choked and coughed and spat Kṛshṇa out. Kṛshṇa stood before him unharmed.

The asura struck again, thrusting his bill like a sword at Kṛshṇa’s head. Kṛshṇa caught the upper and lower beaks in his two hands. As easily as a child tears a blade of grass, he split the asura’s bill apart. Bakāsura died. The gopas cheered, and the devas in svarga rained flowers.

The fruit-seller and the cow-herding duty

The same chapter tells of a fruit-seller. A woman selling fruit came through the place. The young Kṛshṇa took some grain to trade with her for fruit. Most of the grain fell through his small hands as he ran to her, and he reached her with only a few grains. She smiled and gave him a generous armful of fruit anyway, asking for nothing. When she looked in her basket, she found that Kṛshṇa’s grace had filled it with jewels.

Kṛshṇa and Balarāma were now old enough for outdoor work, and Nanda gave them the duty of herding cows. They took the calves, and then the cows, out to graze. They played in the forest all day with their friends and came back in the evening with the cattle. This was the formal giving of the gopāla (cowherd) duty, and it was the start of Kṛshṇa’s life as a cowherd.

Sources

• Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skanda, Chapter 11