Gobhila

Gobhila was a daitya who served Kubera, the yaksha-rāja (king of the yakshas). The Bhūmi Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa (Chapters 47–51) names him as an earlier birth of Kālanemi, who was later born as Kaṃsa.

Gobhila was flying through the sky in a vimāna (a flying vehicle) when he saw Padmāvatī, the queen of Ugrasena of Mathurā. She was playing in a forest lake in Vidarbha. Gobhila was overcome by kāma (desire). By māyā (magic power) he took the exact form of Ugrasena and deceived Padmāvatī. When she found the truth, he did not accept her śāpa (curse). He gave a speech to justify himself instead. The child born from this act was Kaṃsa.

Who Gobhila was

The Bhūmi Khaṇḍa says that Gobhila was a daitya in the service of Kubera, the yaksha-rāja and lord of wealth. He travelled in a vimāna filled with every pleasure (sarvabhogān).

The text also says that Gobhila is a former birth of Kālanemi, who was later born as Kaṃsa. The Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapter 51, gives this.

The deception

Gobhila saw Padmāvatī playing in the forest lake. His desire grew so strong that he feared he would die if it was not satisfied. By his divine knowledge he understood her position. She was a pativratā (a wife faithful to her husband), the wife of Ugrasena, and therefore protected by her virtue. Even so, his desire drove him to act.

He used māyā. He took the exact form of Ugrasena. His limbs large and small, his gait, his voice, his clothing and his age were all the same. He came to Padmāvatī as her husband, who had come to Vidarbha out of love. She was deceived by the perfect likeness and received him. The wrong was done before she could see the truth. Only afterwards did she notice that a certain mark of identification was missing from this “husband”, and she knew she had been deceived. This is told in the Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapters 49–50.

Gobhila’s defence

Padmāvatī was full of righteous anger and was about to pronounce a śāpa. Gobhila did not ask for mercy. He defended himself. He named himself as Gobhila the daitya, a servant of Kubera, and said the following:

• Daityas follow their own dharma. They take the wealth of others (para-dhana) and the wives of others (para-bhāryā) by force.
• This is daitya-ācāra, the conduct laid down for the daitya class.
• He knew the pātivratā-dharma (the duty of a faithful wife), the agnihotrī-dharma (the duty of one who keeps the sacred fire), the bhṛtya-dharma (the duty of a servant) and the sat-putra-dharma (the duty of a good son). He knew these were pillars of a righteous society and accepted that they are valid.
• But Brahmā created daityas, rākshasas and piśācas to correct and punish those whose conduct broke the prescribed rule (vidhi-hīna ācāra).
• So his act was, in a way, a tool of the order of the world.

This is told in the Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapters 50–51.

The birth of Kaṃsa

The child born from Gobhila’s act on Padmāvatī was Kaṃsa. The Bhūmi Khaṇḍa traces to this origin Kaṃsa’s daitya nature, his rejection of Ugrasena’s righteous rule, his great cruelty, his enmity towards devotees of Bhagavān Vishṇu and his death at the hands of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. Kaṃsa was not Ugrasena’s son but Gobhila’s, and he carried the full daitya-karma of his father. This is told in Chapter 51.

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapters 47–51
• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapter 51 (Gobhila as a former birth of Kālanemi; the birth of Kaṃsa)
• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapters 49–50 (the deception)
• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapters 50–51 (Gobhila’s defence)