Demons in Vrindavan | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Japan | May 12, 2025
nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha-shunyavadi-pashchatya-desha-tarine
jaya sri-krishna-chaitanya
prabhu nityananda
sri-adwaita gadadhara
shrivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Okay. So, in the Srimad Bhagavatam, in Vrindavan, there are descriptions of Krishna’s early pastimes after the age of 11 years and 8 months. After that ..
Devotee : How many months?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Eight months. I think up to April, something like that.
So, in that time, he went through three different ages. So, in Nectar of Devotion, Rupa Goswami describes three ages of Krishna. The first is called Kaumara. So, this is where Krishna is young and he’s crawling around and he begins to sneak. And then he begins to play with the calves and so on. So, this is an ideal time for Mother Yasoda to express Vatsalya Rasa. Then, from the age of 5 to 8, Krishna has Pauganda age. So, at this age, Krishna becomes more independent, he’s walking around and he goes out in the fields, he’s not with Mother Yasoda, and he plays with the cowherd boys. So, this is an age in which Sakhya Rasa is very prominent. So, Krishna establishes friendship with all the different cowherd boys. And from the age of 8, up until he leaves Vrindavan, he has Kaisora Age. And this is the age where Madhurya Rasa, with the gopis, becomes prominent.
So, this Aghasura pastime occurs at the juncture of his Kaumara and into his Pauganda age. So, this is the end of the Kaumara, so therefore he’s beginning to show his independence. So, Nanda Maharaj gave him charge of the calves. So, then he began to herd the calves out into the forest. This is taken as some sort of excuse [Laughs]. On the pretext of going to herd the calves, he would go and play with the cowherd boys [Laughs]. So, at the age of 5, he was very eager to go out and play with the cowherd boys. So, the cowherd boys had planned ahead of time, that the next day they would go out and they would all bring their lunches with them, and they would have a picnic in the forest. So, as usual, Krishna in the morning got waken up by Mother Yasoda, and then bathed, and she would dress him, and then feed him. Then, the cowherd boys all gathered outside and began calling his name. They were eager, and he rushed out, got his lunch pack, tied up in a little bundle, like furoshiki [Laughs], like that. They had a little stick, and they carried the stick around the house. So, it’s described that there were many cowherd boys there, many calves. And they give some number, which is like, you know, 20 million or something [Laughs]. So, they all rushed off into the forest like this. So, when they got to the forest, then, of course, they were very excited to play. But Kamsa had sent a demon.
For about, ever since Krishna’s birth, Kamsa was suspicious that, you know, the child who was going to kill him was born. So, he’s sending demons to Vrindavan. So, the first one he sent was Putana. Then, of course, he sent Sakatasura, the world, and Trinavarta [Laughs]. But Krishna managed to kill them all. So, this time, he decided he would send a very ferocious demon. Each time that Kamsa sent a demon, they had a very unique way of killing Krishna [Laughs]. So, Putana tried to poison Krishna. Sakatasura tried to crush him with a cart. And Trinavarta tried to take him up in the sky and drop him down [Laughs].
So, this demon was the form of a huge snake, python. So, of course, pythons, even nowadays, they can swallow huge animals [Laughs]. I think I saw a few years ago that a python had swallowed a deer or a pig or something [Laughs], a huge thing like this, in its stomach. It had a big bulge like this, and it was just sitting there trying to digest this. So, this demon, of course, his name was Agha. Aghasura means a demon, and demon is Asura.
Agha is his name, which means, Agha means sin [Laughs], sin personified. So, his method was to simply open his mouth and swallow Krishna. But, he was a little ambitious. He didn’t want to swallow Krishna alone, he wanted to swallow the cowherd boys also. So, he lay very still there in the road, and he opened his mouth. So, he was actually a huge snake.
And, when the boys saw that, then they were wondering, oh, this is like a huge cave. But, it was so huge, it was going up to the sky. But, then they were saying, well, it looks like it’s a snake, actually [Laughs]. Well, maybe it’s a cave, maybe it’s a snake [Laughs]. So, then they decided, we will run into the cave. So, even if it is a snake, we don’t have to worry, because Krishna will save us [Laughs]. So, all the boys began running into the snake’s mouth. His tongue was there, and it was like a huge highway, and they were running down his tongue [Laughs].
And, Krishna saw this, and he was alarmed, and he started calling out to the cowherd boys, please stop, this is a big demon [Laughs]. So, usually, the cowherd boys, when they hear Krishna, they will come to him, because it’s so attractive. But, this time, they didn’t hear at all. So, Krishna appeared to be powerless. And, he began to wonder, why, why, why are they not listening [Laughs]? And, then he thought, oh, this is Lila Shakti. My Shakti of past times is going to arrange something, that’s why they won’t listen to me. So, Lila Shakti wants me to go into the mouth also. And, of course, in order to save the cowherd boys, he would have to go in and kill the demons somehow. So, he also went into the mouth of Aghasura.
So, Krishna has unique ways of killing demons. He killed Putana by sucking out her prana, her life air. And, he killed Trinavarta by holding on to his neck, and then becoming so heavy, that Trinavarta couldn’t stay in the sky, he fell onto earth and died. So, all of these are methods of killing demons, which, if you look at it from the outside, you’re not quite sure what Krishna did [Laughs]?. So, in this case, Krishna went into the mouth of Aghasura. And, of course, from the outside, no one could see what was happening. But, inside, he went into the throat and he expanded himself [Laughs]. And, when he did that, then Aghasura couldn’t breathe. And, in this way, he died. And then, Krishna came out, and all the cowherd boys and calves came out.
So, what was remarkable is that, when Krishna came out, then everyone saw a light coming out of the body of Aghasura, emerged into Krishna’s body [Laughs]. So, some of the devatas in the sky, they saw this, and they were very astonished. They said, Krishna has liberated a demon. He’s merged into Krishna. But, he’s a demon. How could that happen? So, you see, demons are killed, even by Vishnu, they don’t get liberation. Just as Narasimhadeva killed Hiranyakasipu. He didn’t get liberation, but he got a nice body as Ravana [Laughs] to enjoy materially again. So, one of the qualities of Vishnu that distinguishes him from Shiva and Jivas is that, when he kills a demon, he doesn’t go to hell, but he gets a good body. So, Hiranyakasipu became Ravana, and Ravana became Sisupala, and they enjoyed nice things. So, when Krishna kills a demon, they get much better than that, they get liberation, or they get a body in the spiritual world [Laughs].
So, that is why, the devatas are rather astonished, when Krishna killed the demon, he got liberation, sayujya mukti, merging into the body of Krishna. Of course, it is also said later on, after he emerged into the body of Krishna, he got a four arm form in the spiritual world, so that’s even more [Laughs]. So, the devatas were very astonished [Laughs]. And we know that when the Supreme Lord does something remarkable, then the Devatas, and Apsaras, and the Gandharvas, they all start praising, and singing, and dancing, etc [Laughs]. And they were doing this, and Brahma, who is much higher up in Brahma Loka, very, very distant from Swarga Loka, began to hear all these people praising, and drums [Laughs], and bounding, and everything.
So, he came down from Brahma Loka, and he came down, and he went to Vrindavan, and he looked around, and then he saw Krishna. But at this time, Krishna had killed the demon, and cowherd boys were coming out very happy, so they all decided they would go for their picnic. So, they looked around, and eventually they found a place with nice sand, and trees, etc., on the bank of the Yamuna. And they made sure there was a place for the calves to graze, and eat the grass. So, they all sat down, and they began to open their lunch packs. As I said, there were millions of cowherd boys [Laughs]. So, Krishna was in the center, and all the cowherd boys were in circles around him. So, it was like a big lotus [Laughs] and everybody was looking at Krishna. So, Krishna and the boys opened their lunch packs and they began to look at their lunch, and eat [Laughs]. And they would ask the cowherd boys what are you eating [Laughs]. So, they began trading their food [Laughs]. So, in this way, they were joking and eating together.
Now, the question arises, well, is Krishna in the center, and there’s millions of cowherd boys? Well, what happens to the cowherd boys that are at the edge? They can’t even see Krishna so far away [Laughs]. So, the answer is that, Krishna expanded himself to be in front of each cowherd boy [Laughs]. So, no cowherd boys felt far from Krishna. Krishna was right next to them [Laughs]. So, in this way, they were sitting down and enjoying their picnic very nicely.
At that time, Brahma came down. And he was astonished. Because he also knew that the Supreme Lord had come to kill Kamsa and save the Brahmanas, etc., whatever. But when he got there and he saw Krishna, he didn’t expect Krishna, a small boy, eating lunch with the cowherd boys. Here’s a description in the Brhad Bhagavatamrta, how the Lord is worshipped in Satyaloka. There is a huge form of Vishnu there. And they have all these Brahmanas chanting Vedic mantras and they’re doing sacrifices. And then they make offerings to this huge form of the Lord. So, Brahma expected something like that, but instead, he saw Krishna eating his food like this and passing it on to his friends [Laughs]. So, he was very surprised. He said, how can this be Supreme Lord? So, then he thought, I will test him [Laughs].
So, then he decided, I will take all the calves, because they are out there in the field, nobody sees them, I will take them all, hide them all. So, he took them all and put them in a cave and put them into some sleep [Laughs]. At that time, the cowherd boys thought, where did all the calves go [Laughs]? So, they all got worried and they stopped eating [Laughs]. So, Krishna says, you continue eating, I will go and I will find all the calves. So, Krishna went away and he was looking everywhere for those calves and he couldn’t find them [Laughs]. So, he’s wondering, what should I do [Laughs]? I cannot find the calves anymore. But then he understood that Brahma has done this. But anyway, then he expanded himself into all the calves [Laughs]. And then he returned all the calves to where the cowherd boys were. But all the cowherd boys were gone also, Brahma had taken them as well. But Krishna, instantaneously, became all the cowherd boys. So, he did this with no effort. So, each cowherd boy was different, all individuals. But he became each cowherd boy with his individual dress, his individual character, etc [Laughs].
So, in this way, with all those calves, he went back with all the cowherd boys to the village. And the cows didn’t know any difference, these were smart cows, they got their calves because they could recognize their own calves and they began feeding milk to their calves. All of the cowherd boys went to their houses. And the mothers and fathers said, “Ah this is my cowherd boy”. And then, the next day, all the cowherd boys came out and they met Krishna again, they invited him to the field and he went off and played in the field again. So, in this way, for one year, Krishna had expanded himself into all the calves and all the cowherd boys and no one knew the difference. So, that shows the great skill of Krishna.
So, there was one little difference and Krishna could not control that. The parents became more attracted to their children. So, that’s something that Krishna could not hide [Laughs], the attraction was still there, even if it didn’t look like Krishna, they were still more attracted to those cowherd boys [Laughs]. And all the cows became more attracted to those calves like they were before. Of course this is also we can say a natural fulfillment of the devotee’s desire. All of the elder cowherd men and women were thinking, I would like to have Krishna as my son also [Laughs]. So, in this way, for one year, that desire was fulfilled. So, this went on for almost a year.
Balarama had not gone out in the fields with Krishna on the day of Aghasura. Rohini had kept him at home because it was the monthly tithi of his birthday, so she had some special bath she was giving him. So, he was not aware of all of this. But then, he was participating in all the pastimes every day, going out with Krishna, with the cowherd boys and playing. So, one day, almost a year later, they all went to Govardhan Hill. So, Krishna and the cowherd boys and Balarama were at the base of Govardhan Hill. The cowherd men were grazing the cows on top of Govardhan Hill. But then, the cows saw their calves, who were actually Krishna [Laughs], at the base of the hill. And they became so excited, they began running down the hill. And the cowherd men got angry, and they were running after them, telling them to stop, but the cows wouldn’t stop. So, they ran after them all the way down the hill. And when the cows got to the bottom of the hill, then they saw their calves, and they began feeding them milk and licking them [Laughs]. So, the cowherd men came running after the cows, and they got down to the hill in a very angry mood. But then they saw their sons, and suddenly, they began crying and embracing their sons [Laughs]. They forgot all about the cows.
So, Balarama was looking at this, and this is very strange. Why are the calves so attracted to those cows? So, it was almost a year, and the cows had given birth to new calves. So, then when the new calves are born, then the cow gets attracted to that calf, these cows are attracted to the older calves, not to the new ones. And why are these men so attracted to the cowherd boys? So, then Balarama began thinking, this is very strange [Laughs]. Maybe some demons are disguising themselves as calves or whatever. That cannot be, because I would understand this. Maybe some sages have disguised themselves as calves for some reason [Laughs]. I don’t know, but sages cannot do this, they can’t fool me. So, maybe the devatas are doing some tricks. Devatas also cannot fool me. So, then he said, the only one who can fool me is Krishna [Laughs]. So, then he looked and looked and looked at those calves and those [Laughs] cowherd boys, and then he saw Krishna [Laughs]. So, then understood Krishna as all the calves and cowherd boys. So, then he went to Krishna and asked, what did you do So, then ? So, then Krishna explained everything. And so, Balarama understood this. And he was also astonished by Krishna’s power and how even he could get bewildered by Krishna.
So, at this time then, it was almost a year, and Brahma, he decided to come back. Of course, for Brahma, one year of our time is nothing, it’s a few seconds or minutes or something [Laughs]. So, he was wondering, okay, how I bewildered Krishna, let’s see, maybe he’s all confused and whatever, where did the calves and cowherd boys go? So, he came and then he saw Krishna playing with the calves and cowherd boys, so he was astonished, how could this be, I put them in the cave [Laughs]. So, he went to the cave where he had put them, he looked in and they were all sleeping. And then he looked out and he saw they were all playing in the field. So, then he thought, well, which ones are the real ones? [Laughs] The ones I put in the cave are real, the ones out here are real? Or are they both unreal? And then he realized, oh, I am bewildered [Laughs].
But as he looked at those cows and cowherd boys outside playing with Krishna, then suddenly all the calves and cowherd boys turned into huge Vishnu forms. So, there were, of course, millions of calves and cowherd boys, but now there were millions of Vishnu forms [Laughs]. So, at most, Brahma sees one Vishnu, but here he sees millions of Vishnus [Laughs]. And each of these Vishnu forms was being worshipped by all the Devatas, including Brahma [Laughs]. So, there were millions of Brahmas, millions of Sivas, millions of Indras. And all the elements in personified form were worshipping as well. So, of course, in this way, he realized that I am just one little Brahma among so many Brahmas.
And then suddenly, all those forms disappeared. And what was left was not all the calves and cowherd boys, but one Krishna. And what was Krishna doing? He had some yogurt rice in one hand and a soup tucked in [Laughs], he was eating a little bit yogurt rice [Laughs]. So, then he realized that Krishna is the source of all the Vishnu forms who create all the universes. And he realized he had been bewildered by Krishna. So, then after that, he recites his prayers, famous prayers in the 14th chapter of the 10th Canto. So, at the end of those prayers, then he simply prays that somehow or other, even the grass in Vrindavan is more fortunate than I am. So, my aspiration is simply to be a piece of grass in Vrindavan.
So, in this way, he realized the great power of Krishna. Krishna graphically illustrated that he is more powerful than all the Vishnu forms. At the same time, he began to realize that the greatness itself was one thing, but the sweetness of Krishna is even more wonderful. And therefore, he aspired to be just even a piece of grass in Vrindavan. But, Krishna could not fulfill his desire. Brahma had to stay around for the rest of his life [Laughs], taking care of the universe.
So, this pastime also illustrates that though Vrindavan is full of sweetness, it does not limit Krishna. He can show his powers also. Of course, in this case, he showed his powers to Brahma, who was not a member or resident of Vrindavan. However, for the people of Vrindavan, all of this gets, all of his powers get covered.
So, one year had passed since the events. But, in that year, all the calves and cowherd boys were not the real ones [Laughs]. But then, after when Brahma came back and all this happened, then the actual calves and cowherd boys reappeared [Laughs] and the other ones disappeared. So, they all went back with Krishna, and they came to their houses. And then, they told their parents, today Krishna killed Aghasura. One year later, they came back and said Krishna killed Agasura [Laughs]. So, of course, the parents didn’t know. And the parents didn’t know that Krishna had become all the calves and cowherd boys also. So, in this way, his power was hidden from the cowherd people but, revealed to Brahma to show him his great power. Okay. Any questions?
Q & A
1.) Maharaj, Aghasura what anartha does he represent ?
Oh, I don’t know. You can look it up in Bhaktivinoda’s book. He has a thing there. But, as I said, Aghasura means sin [Laughs]. And he’s devouring, trying to devour Krishna, which is a big offense. So, therefore, it’s maybe an offense, probably a Mayavada offense like [Laughs].
Devotee : Mayavada offense?
HHBSM : Yeah. Merging into God or something. Having the Jiva merge into God [Laughs].
2.) Maharaj there is one, I heard that Brahma was bewildered, because when it was told to Brahma that Krishna will appear. So, he told all the Devatas that you appear in Vrindavan before Krishna comes. But, that time he didn’t say that he will also appear. He ordered them to go. And that’s why Krishna wanted him to come also in Vrindavan. So, that is why he was bewildered in this way. Is there any reference to this?
No. So I haven’t heard that explanation by our acharyas.But what is explained is that actually, Brahma should not get bewildered. Because it says in Bhagavatam that when Brahma was born, the Lord promised in this lifetime he will not be bewildered. So, therefore, how did he get bewildered [Laughs]? So, Acharyas explain, actually, it’s not his fault, It’s Krishna’s fault [Laughs].
So, it wasn’t that he was in maya. It was Krishna’s yoga maya [Laughs]. So, therefore, bewilderment usually, of course, is due to material energy. But this was Krishna acting for his pastime. So, as I mentioned, the cowherd men and women wanted Krishna as their son. And the cows wanted Krishna as their calf [Laughs].
So, through this event of bewildering Brahma, then Krishna got the chance to do that. This is an example of Krishna expanding himself, but in a cowherd form. So, when he said the cowherd was expanding himself, then he was like just Krishna, not cowherd at all. When he was in the Rasalila, he expanded himself to be with each gopi, again millions of gopis [Laughs], all same Krishna. But in this form, he was expanding himself, but didn’t look like Krishna [Laughs], he looked like all the cowherd boys and the calves. But it is still Krishna, so therefore, all the mothers and fathers, they felt this extra attraction to their children because it was actually Krishna [Laughs]. So, this way, the mothers and fathers got a nice opportunity and Krishna also got a nice opportunity to have other people as his parents [Laughs].
3.) Maharaj, cowherd boys were saying that Krishna will protect us and they went inside Aghasura’s mouth, can we also do like that therefore Krishna will protect us and we do whatever we want?
[Everyone Laughs]
This was a little bit of Lila Sakti operating. So, nothing could stop them from going in. And even Krishna could not stop them. So, normally, they don’t simply expect to fall into danger and have Krishna save them. Rather, if they are in difficulty, of course, then they surrender to Krishna. But they don’t want to put themselves into a position and then have Krishna have to do something, so they don’t want Krishna putting forth extra effort.
4.) In Brahma Vimohana Lila, that the parents’ vatsalya rasa was established, right? Between they got Krishna as their son. So, is there any reason, similar reason, for Aghasura’s pastimes? Any rasa? Yeah, any rasa or what was it?
He’s a demon, so dacoit doesn’t have a rasa [Laughs]. He’s got hatred. Indirect, you know, so that’s demons. It’s not a real rasa with Krishna, they have hatred. So, in Agasura’s pastimes, Agasura is a demon. So, there’s no reason for that. So, at best, what they have is not a real rasa, but an apa rasa, or something like that, apa rasa involved [Laughs]. An apa rasa. In that sense, it’s not a real Lila, it’s not a real activity of the five aggregates. It’s called an apa rasa. But, the point is that, by contacting Krishna, even then, they get blessed. Of course, Krishna on his part is not inconvenienced by their attempts to kill him. Its also, for him, it’s a type of rasa [Laughs]. So, he can display his Virya, his powers, his intelligence, etc.
Devotees: HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj Ki.. Jai !!Srila Prabhupad Ki.. Jai !!