Haṃsa-Ḍiṃbhaka Vadha
Haṃsa and Ḍiṃbhaka were sons of King Brahmadhatta. By the vara (boon) of Bhagavān Śiva they grew very strong, and they became proud kings. They insulted Durvāsa Maharshi and then demanded tribute from Bhagavān Kṛshṇa himself. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa refused, and a two-day war followed, first at Pushkara Tīrtha and then at Govardhana. This is the last great war of the Bhavishya Parva of the Harivaṃśa, told in chapters 104 to 130.
Janamejaya’s question
King Janamejaya asked Vaiśampāyana who Haṃsa and Ḍiṃbhaka were. How did they rise to such power that they could stand against Bhagavān Kṛshṇa? Vaiśampāyana then told the whole account. (Bhavishya Parva, chapter 104)
The birth of Haṃsa and Ḍiṃbhaka
Haṃsa and Ḍiṃbhaka were born as sons of King Brahmadhatta. He was a great king who would later perform the Rājasūya yajña (the royal fire ritual). From birth the two brothers showed great strength. As they grew, their pride grew with their strength. (Bhavishya Parva, chapters 105 to 106)
Tapas and Śiva’s vara
The brothers did hard tapas (austerity) for Bhagavān Śiva. Bhagavān Śiva was pleased and appeared before them to give a vara. The vara they received was great military power, enough to challenge the best warriors of the age. With this vara, Haṃsa and Ḍiṃbhaka could not be beaten in battle by mortal kings and fighters. (Bhavishya Parva, chapters 107 to 108)
The hunting journey and Kaśyapa’s yajña
Proud of their power, the brothers went on a great hunting journey and swept through lands without caring what lay in their way. On this journey they encroached on, or broke into, a yajña that Kaśyapa Maharshi was performing. Kaśyapa is the great Prajāpati, the father of both the devas and the daityas. This disrespect toward a holy rite showed the adharma growing in the brothers. (Bhavishya Parva, chapters 109 to 110)
Durvāsa insulted and his warning
On their travels Haṃsa and Ḍiṃbhaka met Durvāsa Maharshi, the ṛshi known for his fierce temper and his fierce tapas. They did not show him the respect he deserved. They behaved proudly before him and insulted him. Durvāsa warned them strongly. He said that their pride would be their ruin, and that what waited for them was a meeting with Bhagavān Kṛshṇa himself. After he had spoken, Durvāsa left. (Bhavishya Parva, chapters 111 to 113)
Durvāsa at Dvārakā
At the same time, Durvāsa Maharshi came to Dvārakā as a guest with five thousand yatis (ascetics), his disciples. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa received them with full honour and gave them food, welcome and every comfort until the ṛshi and all five thousand yatis were fully satisfied. (Bhavishya Parva, chapters 114 to 116)
Haṃsa demands tribute
After the insult to Durvāsa, Haṃsa and Ḍiṃbhaka became bolder still. Their father Brahmadhatta was planning the great Rājasūya yajña, the royal fire ritual that marks rule over all kings. The brothers sent a brāhmaṇa named Janārdana as their messenger to Dvārakā. He demanded that Bhagavān Kṛshṇa pay tribute and so accept that the brothers were greater. (Bhavishya Parva, chapter 117)
Kṛshṇa’s answer and Sātyaki’s mission
Janārdana came to Dvārakā and gave Haṃsa’s demand to Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa answered calmly and clearly. The tribute he would send to Haṃsa and Ḍiṃbhaka would be sent by sword. Then he sent Sātyaki as his own messenger to Haṃsa with this word. Sātyaki told them that Bhagavān Kṛshṇa would meet them in battle at Pushkara Tīrtha. Haṃsa and Ḍiṃbhaka answered with scorn and more pride. They said they would destroy Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and all the Yādavas. (Bhavishya Parva, chapters 118 to 120)
The march to Pushkara
Bhagavān Kṛshṇa gathered the whole Yādava army and marched north to Pushkara Tīrtha. This holy lake is one of the most sacred tīrthas of Bhārata, a place of ancient munis and of Vedic chanting that never stops. As the army marched, Bhagavān Kṛshṇa blew the Pāñcajanya conch, and its roar filled the sky. Kings from all over the land gathered at Pushkara. Some stood with Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, and some waited to watch. The ṛshis and munis who lived at Pushkara waited for the result in prayer. (Bhavishya Parva, chapter 121)
The forces of Haṃsa and Ḍiṃbhaka arrive
Haṃsa and Ḍiṃbhaka came to Pushkara with ten akshauhiṇīs (great army divisions). With them came two fearsome piśāca-bhūtas sent by Bhagavān Śiva to guard them. Their ally Vicakra, who had once defeated Indra himself, marched with them. The rākshasa Hiḍimba also came, with eighty thousand of his own kind. The daitya, rākshasa and allied kshatriya forces filled Pushkara with war-drums and trumpets, the sound of an army ready for total war. (Bhavishya Parva, chapter 122)
The first day: the battle at Pushkara
The great battle began at Pushkara with both armies fully joined. The slaughter was huge. Seventy thousand elephants, forty thousand horses, one hundred thousand chariots and three hundred million foot soldiers fell. The waters of Pushkara lake were stained with the blood of warriors who fell into them. (Bhavishya Parva, chapter 123)
Kṛshṇa kills Vicakra
Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and Vicakra fought one to one. Vicakra was the warrior who had once paralysed Indra. They fought with bow, gadā (mace) and stone. Vicakra struck Bhagavān Kṛshṇa on the forehead with his gadā and threw a huge boulder at his chest. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa turned both aside. Then he used the Āgneyāstra and burnt Vicakra to ash on the spot. The rest of the daitya forces scattered and ran into the ocean. (Bhavishya Parva, chapter 124)
Balarāma and Haṃsa
Balarāma and Haṃsa fought a great duel with bows. Balarāma shot a hundred arrows and Haṃsa shot five. An arrow from Haṃsa struck Balarāma on the forehead and knocked him senseless for a moment. Balarāma got up and rained a thousand arrows on Haṃsa. Their bows broke, and they fought on foot with gadās. They were equally matched, and night fell before either won. (Bhavishya Parva, chapter 125)
Sātyaki and Ḍiṃbhaka
Sātyaki and Ḍiṃbhaka fought a fine duel of archery. Sātyaki broke five hundred of Ḍiṃbhaka’s bows one after another. Ḍiṃbhaka answered with an arrow that made Sātyaki spit blood. They put down their bows and fought with swords. Ḍiṃbhaka had learnt the arts of war from Bhagavān Śiva, and Sātyaki had been trained by Droṇācārya. The devas watching from the sky praised both equally. (Bhavishya Parva, chapter 126)
Balarāma kills Hiḍimba
The rākshasa Hiḍimba tore through the Yādava forces. He ate warriors, smashed elephants and chariots, and terrified all who saw him. Vasudeva and Ugrasena tried to stop him and almost fell into his grasp. Balarāma stepped in and challenged Hiḍimba, and the two fought with their fists. Balarāma struck Hiḍimba in the face, and the rākshasa fell. When Hiḍimba rose again and threatened the aged Vasudeva and Ugrasena, Balarāma struck him down for good. (Bhavishya Parva, chapter 127)
The second day: the battle at Govardhana
That night Haṃsa and Ḍiṃbhaka withdrew to Govardhana Parvata. Next morning both armies gathered at Govardhana, on the bank of the Yamunā. This is the holy mountain that Bhagavān Kṛshṇa had once lifted on his finger to shelter the people of Vraja. Here the last fight took place.
Kṛshṇa and Haṃsa use the divine astras
The two piśāca-bhūtas sent by Bhagavān Śiva threw their tridents at Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. He leapt down from his chariot, caught both in his bare hands, whirled them round and threw them onto Kailāsa. Then Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and Haṃsa fought with divine astras (weapons charged with mantra). They used the Āgneyāstra, Vāruṇāstra, Vāyavyāstra, Māheśvarāstra, Brahmāstra and last the Brahmaśiras, and each was met by the other. No astra won. At last Bhagavān Kṛshṇa sipped Yamunā water in ācamana (the rite of sipping water), called up the Vaishṇavāstra and aimed it at Haṃsa. (Bhavishya Parva, chapter 128)
The death of Haṃsa
When Haṃsa faced the Vaishṇavāstra, he was filled with terror. He ran from his chariot toward the Kāliya-hrada, the pool in the Yamunā tied to the serpent Kāliya whom Bhagavān Kṛshṇa had once subdued. Haṃsa jumped into the water. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa leapt from his own chariot and dived in after him, and all who watched were amazed at this fearless chase into the depths. In the waters of the Kāliya-hrada Bhagavān Kṛshṇa struck Haṃsa with his feet, and Haṃsa died. Some accounts say the serpents of the pool ate him. In an instant the one who had challenged Bhagavān Kṛshṇa was gone. (Bhavishya Parva, chapter 129)
Ḍiṃbhaka’s death
The news of Haṃsa’s death reached Ḍiṃbhaka while he was still fighting Balarāma. He left the battle and ran to the Yamunā, where his brother had fallen. Again and again he dived into the water and searched, but he could not find Haṃsa anywhere. Overcome with grief, he called out his brother’s name, wept, and said he could not live without him. Ḍiṃbhaka decided to die. While under the water of the Yamunā he bit off his own tongue and drowned. (Bhavishya Parva, chapter 130)
What followed
With Haṃsa and Ḍiṃbhaka both dead, the war ended. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa returned to Pushkara Tīrtha. The ṛshis who lived there came forward and praised him. They called him the destroyer of those who hate brāhmaṇas (brahma-dveshīs), the refuge of those who meditate on him, and the protector of the world. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa received them kindly and then left with the Yādava forces. (Bhavishya Parva, chapter 132)
Sources
- Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapter 104 (Janamejaya’s question)
- Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapters 105 to 106 (birth of the brothers)
- Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapters 107 to 108 (tapas and Śiva’s vara)
- Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapters 109 to 110 (hunting journey and Kaśyapa’s yajña)
- Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapters 111 to 113 (Durvāsa)
- Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapters 114 to 116 (Durvāsa at Dvārakā)
- Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapter 117 (demand for tribute)
- Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapters 118 to 120 (Kṛshṇa’s answer, Sātyaki’s mission)
- Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapters 121 to 122 (march to Pushkara, arrival of the forces)
- Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapters 123 to 127 (first day)
- Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapters 128 to 130 (second day, deaths of Haṃsa and Ḍiṃbhaka)
- Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapter 132 (what followed)