Krishna was the eight incarnation of Vishnu and he was born as the son of Devaki and Vasudeva.
Initially, Krishna did not have any sons. Desirous of obtaining a son, Krishna went to visit the sage Upamanyu. The sage's hermitage was beautiful. Wonderous were the trees and flowers and grew there. The constant chanting of the Vedas could be heard. Wild animals lost their ferocity as soon as they entered the hermitage. Lotus flowers bloomed in the ponds. Sages came from all over the country to meditate in the hermitage. The sacred river Ganga flowed past the hermitage.
Krishna greeted the sages and they worshipped him in return.
Upamanyu welcomed Krishna with various offerings and said, "Our meditation has been amply rewarded by your visit. The great Vishnu has himself come to grace us by your presence. But is there any particular reason as to why you have come to the hermitage?"
"I wish to meet Shiva," replied Krishna. "How does one get to met him?"
"Shiva appears if a devotee performs difficult tapasya," said Upamanyu. "It helps if the meditation is accompanied by great faith."
Hearing these words, Krishna began a difficult religious rite known as pashupata vrata. He donned clothes made out of the barks of trees, smeared ashes on his body and continuously chanted Shiva's name. After many years had passed, Shiva and Parvati appeared before Krishna.
"Krishna, why are you performing tapasya?" asked Shiva. "You are the great Vishnu himself. Any object that you desire is immediately attained. Why are you then engaged in this task of meditation?"
"I wish to have a son who is just like you," said Krishna. "Please let him also be devoted to you."
Shiva gladly granted the boon and the son who was born was Shamba (alternatively, Samba). He was the son of Krishna and Jambavati.
(Stories about Shamba are to be found in the Vishnu Purana, and also in Mahabharataa.)
Cause
Krishna wanted his son to be exactly like Shiva. Shiva's main function is to destroy creation. For his son to be like Shiva meant that the boy would be the cause of the destruction of his entire race. This was what Krishna precisely wanted because the Yadus could not be defeated by anybody. Immortality for humans is out of question therefore at the end of the Yuga the Yadus would destroy each other. Samba played an instrumental role in this.
Marriage of Samba
Duryodhana, the son of Dhrtarastra, had a marriageable daughter by the name of Laksmana. She was a very highly qualified girl of the Kuru dynasty, and many princes wanted to marry her. In such cases, the svayamvara ceremony is held so that the girl may select her husband according to her own choice. In Laksmana's svayamvara assembly, when the girl was to select her husband, Samba appeared. He was a son of Krsna's by Jambavati, one of the chief wives of Lord Krsna. This son Samba is so named because he was a very bad child, and he always lived close to his mother. The name Samba indicates a son who is very much his mother's pet. Amba means mother, and sa means with. So this special name was given to him because he always remained with his mother. He was also known as Jambavati-suta for the same reason. As previously explained, all the sons of Krsna were as qualified as their great father, Lord Krsna. Samba wanted the daughter of Duryodhana, Laksmana, although she was not inclined to have him. Therefore Samba kidnapped Laksmana by force from the svayamvara assembly.
Because Samba took Laksmana away from the assembly by force, all the members of the Kuru dynasty, namely, Dhrtarastra, Bhisma, Vidura, Ujahan and Arjuna, thought it an insult to their family tradition that the boy, Samba, could possibly have kidnapped their daughter. All of them knew that Laksmana was not at all inclined to select him as her husband and that she was not given the chance to select her own husband; instead she was forcibly taken away by this boy. Therefore, they decided that he must be punished. They unanimously declared that he was most impudent and that he had degraded the Kurus' family tradition. Therefore, all of them, under the counsel of the elderly members of the Kuru family, decided to arrest the boy but not kill him. They concluded that the girl could not be married to any boy other than Samba since she had already been touched by him. (According to the Vedic system, once being used by some boy, a girl cannot be married or given to any other boy. Nor would anyone agree to marry a girl who had already thus associated with another boy.) The elderly members of the family, such as Bhisma, wanted to arrest him. All the members of the Kuru dynasty, especially the great fighters, joined together just to teach him a lesson, and Karna was made the commander-in-chief for this small battle.
While the plan was being made to arrest Samba, the Kurus counseled amongst themselves that upon his arrest, the members of the Yadu dynasty would be very angry with them. There was every possibility of the Yadus' accepting the challenge and fighting with them. But they also thought, "If they came here to fight with us, what could they do? The members of the Yadu dynasty cannot equal the members of the Kuru dynasty because the kings of the Kuru dynasty are the emperors whereas the kings of the Yadu dynasty are able to enjoy their landed property." The Kurus thought, "If they come here to challenge us because their son was arrested, we will nevertheless accept the fight. All of us will teach them a lesson, so that automatically they will become subdued under pressure, as the senses are subdued by the mystic yoga process, pranayama." (In the mechanical system of mystic yoga, the airs within the body are controlled, and the senses are subdued and checked from being engaged in anything other than meditation upon Lord Visnu.)
After consultation and after receiving permission from the elder members of the Kuru dynasty, such as Bhisma and Dhrtarastra, six great warriors--Karna, Sala, Bhurisrava, Yajnaketu and Duryodhana, the father of the girl--all maha-rathis and guided by the great fighter Bhismadeva, attempted to arrest the boy Samba. There are different grades of fighters, including maha-rathi, eka-rathi and rathi, classified according to their fighting capacity. These maha-rathis could fight alone with many thousands of men. All of them combined together to arrest Samba. Samba was also a maha-rathi, but he was alone and had to fight with the six other maha-rathis. Still he was not deterred when he saw all the great fighters of the Kuru dynasty coming up behind him to arrest him.
Alone, he turned towards them and took his nice bow, posing exactly as a lion stands adamant in the face of other animals. Karna was leading the party, and he challenged Samba, "Why are you fleeing? Just stand, and we shall teach you a lesson!" When challenged by another ksatriya to stand and fight, a ksatriya cannot go away; he must fight. Therefore, as soon as Samba accepted the challenge and stood alone before them, he was overpowered by showers of arrows thrown by all the great warriors. As a lion is never afraid of being chased by many wolves and jackals, similarly, Samba, the glorious son of the Yadu dynasty, endowed with inconceivable potencies as the son of Lord Krsna, became very angry at the warriors of the Kuru dynasty for improperly using arrows against him. He fought them with great talent. First of all, he struck each of the six charioteers with six separate arrows. Another four arrows he used to kill the charioteers' horses, four on each chariot. One arrow was used to kill the driver and one arrow was used for Karna as well as the other celebrated fighters. While Samba was so diligently fighting alone with the six great warriors, they all appreciated the inconceivable potency of the boy. Even in the midst of fighting, they admitted frankly that this boy Samba was wonderful. But the fighting was conducted in the ksatriya spirit, so all together, although it was improper, they obliged Samba to get down from his chariot, now broken to pieces. Of the six warriors, four took care to kill Samba's four horses, and one of them managed to cut the string of Samba's bow so that he could no longer fight with them. In this way, with great difficulty and after a severe fight, Samba was left bereft of his chariot, and they were able to arrest him. Thus, the warriors of the Kuru dynasty accepted their great victory and took their daughter, Laksmana, away from him. Thereafter, they entered the city of Hastinapura in great triumph.
The great sage Narada immediately carried the news to the Yadu dynasty that Samba was arrested and told them the whole story. The members of the Yadu dynasty became very angry at Samba's being arrested, and improperly so by six warriors. Now, with the permission of the head of the Yadu dynasty's king, Ugrasena, they prepared to attack the capital city of the Kuru dynasty.
Although Lord Balarama knew very well that by slight provocation people are prepared to fight with one another in the age of Kali, He did not like the idea that the two great dynasties, the Kuru dynasty and the Yadu dynasty, would fight amongst themselves, even though they were influenced by Kali-yuga. "Instead of fighting with them," He wisely thought, "let Me go there and see the situation, and let Me try to see if the fight can be settled by mutual understanding." Balarama's idea was that if the Kuru dynasty could be induced to release Samba along with his wife, Laksmana, then the fight could be avoided. He therefore immediately arranged for a nice chariot to go to Hastinapura, accompanied by learned priests and brahmanas, as well as by some of the elderly members of the Yadu dynasty. He was confident that the members of the Kuru dynasty would agree to this marriage and avoid fighting amongst themselves. As Lord Balarama proceeded towards Hastinapura in His chariot, accompanied by the learned brahmanas and the elderly members of the Yadu dynasty, He looked like the moon shining in the clear sky amongst the glittering stars. When Lord Balarama reached the precincts of the city of Hastinapura, He did not enter, but stationed Himself in a camp outside the city in a small garden house. Then He asked Uddhava to see the leaders of the Kuru dynasty and inquire from them whether they wanted to fight with the Yadu dynasty or to make a settlement. Uddhava went to see the leaders of the Kuru dynasty, and he met all the important members, including Bhismadeva, Dhrtarastra, Dronacarya, Bali, Duryodhana and Bahlika. After offering them due respects, he informed them that Lord Balarama had already arrived at the garden, outside the city door.
The leaders of the Kuru dynasty, especially Dhrtarastra and Duryodhana, were very joyful because they knew very well that Lord Balarama was a great well-wisher of their family. There were no bounds to their joy on hearing the news, and so immediately they welcomed Uddhava. In order to properly receive Lord Balarama, they all took auspicious paraphernalia for His reception in their hands and went to see Him outside the city door. According to their respective positions, they welcomed Lord Balarama by giving Him in charity nice cows and arghya (an assortment of articles such as aratrika water, sweet preparations of honey, butter, etc., and flowers, and garlands scented with pulp). Because all of them knew the exalted position of Lord Balarama as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they bowed their heads before the Lord with great respect. They all exchanged words of reception by asking one another of their welfare, and when such formality was finished, Lord Balarama, in a great voice and very patiently, submitted before them the following words for their consideration. "My dear friends, this time I have come to you as a messenger with the order of the all-powerful King Ugrasena. Please, therefore, hear the order with attention and great care. Without wasting a single moment, please try to carry out the order. King Ugrasena knows very well that you warriors of the Kuru dynasty improperly fought with the pious Samba, who was alone, and that with great difficulty and tactics you have arrested him. We have all heard this news, but we are not very agitated because we are most intimately related to each other. I do not think we should disturb our good relationship; we should continue our friendship without any unnecessary fighting. Please, therefore, immediately release Samba and bring him, along with his wife, Laksmana, before Me."
When Lord Balarama spoke in a commanding tone full of heroic assertion, supremacy and chivalry, His statements were not appreciated by the leaders of the Kuru dynasty. Rather, all of them became agitated, and with great anger they said: "Hello! These words are very astonishing but quite befitting the age of Kali; otherwise how could Balarama speak so vituperatively? The language and tone used by Balarama are simply abusive, and due to the influence of this age, it appears that the shoes befitting the feet want to rise to the top of the head where the helmet is worn. We are connected with the Yadu dynasty by marriage, and because of this they have been given the chance to come live with us, dine with us, and sleep with us; now they are taking advantage of these privileges. They had practically no position before we gave them a portion of our kingdom to rule, and now they are trying to command us. We have allowed the Yadu dynasty to use the royal insignias like the whisk, fan, conchshell, white umbrella, crown, royal throne, sitting place, bedstead and everything befitting the royal order. They should not have used such royal paraphernalia in our presence, but we did not check them due to our family relationships. Now they have the audacity to order us to do things. Well, this is enough of their impudence! We cannot allow them to do any more of these things, nor shall we allow them to use these royal insignias. It would be best to take all these things away; it is improper to feed a snake with milk, since such merciful activities simply increase his venom. The Yadu dynasty is now trying to go against those who have fed them so nicely. Their flourishing condition is due to our gifts and merciful behavior, and still they are so shameless that they are trying to order us. How regrettable are all these activities! No one in the world can enjoy anything if the members of the Kuru dynasty like Bhisma, Dronacarya and Arjuna do not allow them to. Exactly as a lamb cannot enjoy life in the presence of a lion, without our desire it is not even possible for the demigods in heaven, headed by King Indra, to find enjoyment in life, what to speak of ordinary human beings!" Actually the members of the Kuru dynasty were very puffed up due to their opulence, kingdom, aristocracy, family tradition, great warriors, family members and vast expansive empire. They did not even observe common formalities of civilized society, and in the presence of Lord Balarama they uttered insulting words about the Yadu dynasty. Speaking in this unmannerly way, they returned to their city of Hastinapura.
Although Lord Balarama patiently heard their insulting words and simply observed their uncivil behavior, from His appearance it was clear that He was burning with anger and was thinking of retaliating with great vengeance. His bodily features became so agitated that it was difficult for anyone to look at Him. He laughed very loudly and said: "It is true that if a man becomes too puffed up because of his family, opulence, beauty and material advancement, he no longer wants a peaceful life but becomes belligerent toward all others. It is useless to give such a person good instruction for gentle behavior and peaceful life, but on the contrary, one should search out the ways and means to punish him." Generally, due to material opulence a man becomes exactly like an animal. To give an animal peaceful instructions is useless, and the only means is argumentum baculum. In other words, the only means to keep animals in order is a stick. "Just see how impudent the members of the Kuru dynasty are! I wanted to make a peaceful settlement despite the anger of all the other members of the Yadu dynasty, including Lord Krsna Himself. They were preparing to attack the whole kingdom of the Kuru dynasty, but I pacified them and took the trouble to come here to settle the affair without any fighting. Still these rascals behave like this! It is clear that they do not want a peaceful settlement, but that they are factually warmongers. With great pride they have repeatedly insulted Me by calling the Yadu dynasty ill names.
"Even the King of heaven, Indra, abides by the order of the Yadu dynasty; and you consider King Ugrasena, who is the head of the Bhojas, Vrsnis, Andhakas and Yadavas, to be the leader of a small phalanx! Your conclusion is wonderful! You do not care for King Ugrasena, whose order is obeyed even by King Indra. Consider the exalted position of the Yadu dynasty. They have forcibly used both the assembly house and the parijata tree of the heavenly planet, and still you think that they cannot order you. Don't you even think that Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, can sit on the exalted royal throne and command everyone? All right! If your thinking is like that, then you deserve to be taught a very good lesson. You have thought it wise that the royal insignias like the whisk, fan, white umbrella, royal throne and other princely paraphernalia not be used by the Yadu dynasty. Does this mean that even Lord Krsna, the Lord of the whole creation and the husband of the goddess of fortune, cannot use this royal paraphernalia? The dust of Krsna's lotus feet is worshiped by all the great demigods. The Ganges water is inundating the whole world, and since it is emanating from His lotus feet, its banks have turned into great places of pilgrimage. The principal deities of all planets engage in His service and consider themselves most fortunate to take the dust of the lotus feet of Krsna on their helmets. Great demigods like Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, and even the goddess of fortune and I are simply plenary parts of His spiritual identity, and still you think that He is not fit to use the royal insignia or even sit on the royal throne? Alas, how regrettable it is that these fools consider us, the members of the Yadu dynasty, to be like shoes and themselves like helmets. It is clear now that these leaders of the Kuru dynasty have become mad over their worldly possessions and opulence. Every statement they made was full of crazy proposals. I should immediately take them to task and bring them to their senses. If I do not take steps against them, it will be improper on My part. Therefore, on this very day, I shall rid the whole world of any trace of the Kuru dynasty. I shall finish them off immediately!" While talking like this, Lord Balarama seemed so furious that He looked as if He could burn the whole cosmic creation to ashes. He stood up steadily, and taking His plow in His hand, began striking the earth with it. In this way the whole city of Hastinapura was separated from the earth. Lord Balarama then began to drag the city toward the flowing water of the river Ganges. Because of this, there was a great tremor throughout Hastinapura, as if there had been an earthquake, and it seemed that the whole city would be dismantled.
When all the members of the Kuru dynasty saw that their city was about to fall into the water of the Ganges and when they heard their citizens howling in great anxiety, they immediately came to their senses and understood what was happening. Thus without waiting another second they brought forward their daughter Laksmana. They also brought Samba, who had forcibly tried to take her away, keeping him in the forefront with Laksmana at his back. All the members of the Kuru dynasty appeared before Lord Balarama with folded hands just to beg the pardon of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Now using good sense, they said: "O Lord Balarama, You are the reservoir of all pleasures. You are the maintainer and support of the entire cosmic situation. Unfortunately we were all unaware of Your inconceivable potencies. Dear Lord, please consider us most foolish. Our intelligence was bewildered and not in order. Therefore we have come before You to beg Your pardon. Please excuse us. You are the original creator, sustainer and annihilator of the whole cosmic manifestation, and still Your position is always transcendental. O all-powerful Lord, great sages speak about You. You are the original puppeteer, and everything in the world is just like Your toy. O unlimited one, You have a hold on everything, and like child's play You hold all the planetary systems on Your head. When the time for dissolution comes, You close up the whole cosmic manifestation within Yourself. At that time nothing remains but Yourself lying in the Causal Ocean as Maha-Visnu. Our dear Lord, You have appeared on this earth in Your transcendental body just for the maintenance of the cosmic situation. You are above all anger, envy and enmity. Whatever You do, even in the form of chastisement, is auspicious for the whole material existence. We are offering our respectful obeisances unto You because You are the imperishable Supreme Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of all opulences and potencies. O creator of innumerable universes, let us fall down and offer You our respectful obeisances, again and again. We are now completely surrendered unto You. Please, therefore, be merciful upon us and give us Your protection." When the prominent members of the Kuru dynasty, beginning with grandfather Bhismadeva down to Arjuna and Duryodhana, had offered their respectful prayers in that way, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Balarama, immediately became softened and assured them that there was no cause for fear and that they need not worry.
For the most part it was the practice of the ksatriya kings to inaugurate some kind of fighting between the parties of the bride and bridegroom before the marriage. When Samba forcibly took away Laksmana, the elder members of the Kuru dynasty were pleased to see that he was actually the suitable match for her. In order to see his personal strength, however, they fought with him, and without any respect for the regulations of fighting, they all arrested him. When the Yadu dynasty decided to release Samba from the confinement of the Kurus, Lord Balarama came personally to settle the matter, and as a powerful ksatriya, He ordered them to free Samba immediately. The Kauravas became superficially insulted by this order, so they challenged Lord Balarama's power. They simply wanted to see Him exhibit His inconceivable strength. Thus with great pleasure they handed over their daughter to Samba, and the whole matter was settled. Duryodhana, being affectionate towards his daughter Laksmana, had her married to Samba in great pomp. For her dowry, he first gave 1,200 elephants, each of which were at least sixty years old; then he gave 10,000 nice horses, 6,000 chariots, which were dazzling just like the sunshine, and 1,000 maidservants who were decorated with golden ornaments. Lord Balarama, the most prominent member of the Yadu dynasty, acted as guardian of the bridegroom, Samba, and very pleasingly accepted the dowry. Balarama was very satisfied after His great reception from the side of the Kurus, and accompanied by the newly married couple, He started towards His capital city of Dvaraka.
Lord Balarama triumphantly reached Dvaraka, where He met with many citizens who were all His devotees and friends. When they all assembled, Lord Balarama narrated the whole story of the marriage, and they were astonished to hear how Balarama had made the city of Hastinapura tremble. It is confirmed by Sukadeva Gosvami that the site of Hastinapura is now known as New Delhi, and the river flowing through the city was called the Yamuna, although in those days it was known as the Ganges. From authorities like Jiva Gosvami it is also confirmed that the Ganges and Yamuna are the same river flowing in different courses. The part of the Ganges which flows through Hastinapura to the area of Vrndavana is called the Yamuna because it is sanctified by the transcendental pastimes of Lord Krsna. The part of Hastinapura which slopes towards the Yamuna becomes inundated during the rainy season and reminds everyone of Lord Balarama's threatening to cast the city into the Ganges.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Sixty-eighth Chapter of Krsna, "The Marriage of Samba."
Curse of the sages
Once, Samba was dressed up by the Yadavas as a pregnant woman and presented to the Sages as a prank. Samba had held a mace/pestle under his clothes to make him look pregnant[Many versions say that Samba gave birth to the iron pestle, according to the curse]. The Yadava pranksters told the Sages that this was a young woman who was expecting a child and she was eager to know if she would give birth to a son or a daughter. The sages who could see through the hoax felt extremely angry at this insulting behaviour of the young men and pronounced a curse on them, "O fools, she will deliver a pestle and that will be the ruin of your whole clan!" The pranksters were frightened, they ran away and reported the matter to Ugrasena. Ugrasena ashamed of the children's behaviour ordered the servants to powder the mace and throw it into the sea. One small piece remained which was later found by the hunter Jara who became the cause of Krishna's departure from the world. However, curses of sages often run their courses and end. Therefore from the powder of the mace grew tall bamboo which surrounded the entire Dwaraka region. It was with these iron bamboos that the Yadus destroyed each other in Mausala Parva of Mahabharata.
Leprosy suffering
Samba was very handsome and he looked quite alike Krishna. He would use his looks to fool his own step-mothers and play pranks on them in Krishna's absence. Krishna bore this in patience not wanting to hurt his son. One fine day the prince famous for his notoriety teased Sage Narada about his looks. Narad Muni was not very nice looking and felt infuriated and insulted by Samba's insolence. But being a mischievous muni himself, he decided to teach Samba a lesson. He lured the arrogant prince to the private bathing pool where his step-mothers bathed. Many of the queens saw him there and complained to Krishna about this. Narad too added fuel to the fire. Krishna was mortified to know that his son had become a peeping-tom and cursed Samba to be affected with leprosy. Samba pleaded his innocence and entreated that he had been misled by Narad. This was found to be true and Krishna repented his haste. But a curse cannot be revoked. Krishna advised Samba to pray to Suryadev. Samba prayed for 12 years and was instructed by Surya to go and bathe at the sea near Konark. The holy waters cured him of this disease and a delighted Samba decided to erect a temple of Surya on that spot
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