Pauṇḍraka Vadha (Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa)

Pauṇḍraka was king of the Puṇḍra country. He called himself the true Vāsudeva and took up every sign of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. When Nārada warned him, he refused to listen. He marched on Dvārakā and surrounded it. The Yādavas fought him. Sātyaki fought Pauṇḍraka for two chapters, Balarāma defeated Ekalavya, who had come as Pauṇḍraka’s ally, and at last Bhagavān Kṛshṇa himself slew Pauṇḍraka. The Harivaṃśa tells this in the Bhavishya Parva.

Pauṇḍraka’s proud claim

Pauṇḍraka was a powerful king who ruled the Puṇḍra country. In great pride he announced that he was the true Vāsudeva, the real avatāra of Bhagavān Vishṇu in the present age. He said that Kṛshṇa of Dvārakā was a cheat who had taken these divine signs for himself.

To back his claim, Pauṇḍraka took up all of Kṛshṇa’s outward marks and weapons:

  • the Pāñcajanya conch
  • the Sudarśana cakra, or an imitation of it
  • the Kaumodakī gadā
  • the Vaijayantī garland
  • the Kaustubha gem
  • the yellow silk garment
  • the special bodily marks of the avatāra

He even sent messengers to Dvārakā. They demanded that Kṛshṇa give up these signs or face war.

Nārada’s warning

The ṛshi Nārada, who loves to arrange divine meetings, went to Pauṇḍraka and warned him gently that his claim could not stand. Nārada knew who Kṛshṇa was. He tried to turn Pauṇḍraka from his course. He pointed out that the signs Pauṇḍraka wore were imitations, and that the one he set himself against was Paramātmā, beyond all measure. But Pauṇḍraka’s pride had grown past reason, and he refused Nārada’s advice. His false belief that he, and not Kṛshṇa, was the true divine being had settled too deeply to be moved by words.

The siege of Dvārakā

Pauṇḍraka gathered a huge army, marched on Dvārakā and surrounded the city. Dvārakā was the ocean city that Viśvakarmā had built on the word of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, and it was not easy to threaten. Still, the boldness of the siege was itself an insult that called for a divine answer.

Sātyaki fights Pauṇḍraka

When the battle began, Sātyaki, one of the greatest warriors of the Yādavas, went out to face Pauṇḍraka. For two chapters the two fought a fierce battle with the bow, with great skill on both sides. Sātyaki’s skill in archery was fully shown. But Pauṇḍraka, with his great army behind him, was no ordinary enemy.

Balarāma fights Ekalavya

Among Pauṇḍraka’s allies was Ekalavya, the famous archer. In his youth Ekalavya had cut off his own thumb as guru-dakshiṇā (the pupil’s gift to his teacher) to Droṇācārya, at Droṇa’s demand. Now he was a strong king and warrior, and he had come to Pauṇḍraka’s side. In the battle he met Balarāma. The fight was fierce, but Balarāma, whose strength was unmatched in the three worlds, won. Ekalavya fell in battle.

Kṛshṇa faces Pauṇḍraka

Sātyaki’s battle went on, and Balarāma had beaten Ekalavya. Then it was time for Bhagavān Kṛshṇa himself to face Pauṇḍraka. The two met on the field. Pauṇḍraka wore copied signs of the divine, and Kṛshṇa stood in his true divine form. One was dressed in borrowed signs. The other was the eternal source from whom all such signs take their meaning. A great battle followed, and Pauṇḍraka used every weapon and every ally he had.

The death of Pauṇḍraka

Bhagavān Kṛshṇa slew Pauṇḍraka. The man who had set himself up as the rival of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa fell in battle, and his false claim was over. Dvārakā was safe.

Sources

  • Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapters 92–93 (Pauṇḍraka’s claim)
  • Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapter 94 (Nārada’s warning)
  • Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapters 95–96 (the siege of Dvārakā)
  • Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapters 97–98 (Sātyaki and Pauṇḍraka)
  • Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapters 99–100 (Balarāma and Ekalavya)
  • Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapters 101–102 (Kṛshṇa faces Pauṇḍraka)
  • Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, chapter 103 (the death of Pauṇḍraka)