The Upside-Down King Read online

  Banasura looked at the form standing in front of him and then bowed his head in surrender to the lord, just as his soul departed from his body.

  Soon, Aniruddha, Usha and Chitralekha were freed from prison. Later, they came to Dwarka, and the wedding was celebrated with much pomp and show.

  Today, the locals in Uttarakhand identify a place called Sui as where the bitter war between Banasura and Krishna is said to have taken place. Huge quantities of blood spilled everywhere and collected in the form of a pond, which is now known as the Lohawati, and the water continues to sport a tinge of red.

  Krishna’s Consorts

  Lord Krishna had eight principal queen consorts.

  Rukmini, the daughter of King Bhishmika, was the princess of Vidarbha who fell in love with Krishna. She had three brothers who arranged for her to marry Shishupala, Krishna’s cousin. So Rukmini secretly wrote a letter to Krishna and asked him to save her from the arranged marriage to Shishupala. On the day of the wedding, Krishna rescued her and took her to Dwarka, where the two were immediately wed. She was his first wife and the chief queen, and is often considered to be an avatar of Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu.

  Jambuvati (also known as Rohini), the daughter of Jambuvanta, was the second queen. Her father gave her hand in marriage to Krishna along with the diamond Shamantakamani when the lord came looking for the diamond. Jambuvati’s son, Samba, would later become responsible for the destruction of the Yaduvamsha clan.

  Satyabhama was Krishna’s third wife and the daughter of Satrajitha, a wealthy merchant in Dwarka. Again, it was Satyabhama who fell in love with Krishna and wanted to marry him. Since she was from a rich family, she often looked down upon the other queens. There are many stories of Rukmini and Satyabhama, and Krishna ensured that Satyabhama learnt lessons from Rukmini’s devotion and love for Krishna.

  The fourth wife was Kalindhi, the sister of River Yamuna, who performed a penance in her desire to marry Krishna. One day, Krishna and Arjuna went hunting inside a forest; it was here that they saw Kalindhi. In the end, she married Krishna because of Arjuna’s mediation.

  Mitravinda, the daughter of Jayasena, was Krishna’s fifth wife, and had twin brothers named Vindha and Anuvindha. She always loved Krishna and wanted to marry him. Her brothers opposed her love and did not invite Krishna to her swayamvara. However, she managed to inform Krishna about the swayamvara, and he came and took her away from the venue. Mitravinda’s brothers fought him, but Krishna defeated them all and married her, and also came to be known as Mitravinda Govinda. Later, Vindha and Anuvindha joined hands with the Kauravas during the war of Mahabharata.

  Nagnajitaa, or Satya, was the daughter of Nagnajita, the king of Kosala. The king’s condition was that the only man who would marry his daughter must be able to defeat his seven vicious bulls. When Krishna appeared ready to take on the challenge, the king was overjoyed to see him and secretly hoped he would be able to defeat the bulls. Krishna grew up in Gokul with cows and bulls, and he easily defeated the bulls and married Nagnajitaa. Other princes, who had earlier been unsuccessful in their attempts to defeat the bulls, challenged Krishna, but they were no match to the lord and had to bow down to him at the end.

  Neela, the princess of the Kaikeya kingdom, married Krishna in a swayamvara.

  Shaibya, the niece of Srugala Vasudeva, fell in love with Krishna, helped him fight her uncle and married him.

  Three and a Half Diamonds

  Balarama was a great champion of gadayuddha, or the art of fighting with a mace. He shared his knowledge with Bhima and Duryodhana and taught them everything he knew. Both the young men were good students.

  One day, Balarama’s wife, Revati, said to her husband, ‘I want to see your mace skills in a duel.’

  Balarama said, ‘Of course! You can see them any day, Revati, but I must tell you that I will never get good opponents to stand against me because of my ability to defeat anyone in such a duel. Let’s wait for a suitable opportunity where I can truly show you my skills against a worthy man.’

  Rukmini and Satyabhama casually mentioned to Krishna, ‘We are really bored, and we want to witness an unusual story. We are tired of Sage Narada’s stories when he visits us.’

  In due time, the Pandavas became powerful and ruled from the city of Indraprastha. Bhima, one of the Pandava brothers, became certain that no one could match him in gadayuddha.

  Meanwhile, Duryodhana regularly kept in touch with his skills at Hastinapur. He felt certain that he was strong enough to defeat Bhima. In his heart, he desired to fight his cousins and capture their kingdom.

  Duryodhana’s uncle Vidura advised his nephew, ‘Don’t think of going down the path of war, dear child. I suggest you go and visit Krishna, touch his feet and ask him for blessings that will allow you and your cousins, the Pandavas, to live in peace and with happiness. Don’t waste your thoughts or energy on trying to defeat Bhima in a gadayuddha sometime in the future.’

  Duryodhana shook his head. ‘I am not going to seek Krishna’s blessings nor am I going to respect him by touching his feet or any part of his leg. I am a king, and it is below my royal status to touch the feet of a cowherd. If a war is meant to be, let it happen, Uncle. I will ensure that we are prepared for it. I am sure to win.’

  Narada, the travelling sage, overheard this as he was passing by, and smiled mysteriously.

  King Vardhana was a handsome prince and a great devotee of Narada. He had lost both his kingdom and his eyes in a war. His condition became like that of a beggar, and he lived in a forest.

  After losing his kingdom, he prayed to Narada and asked for help.

  Narada came to him and promised, ‘Don’t worry. There is light at the end of this. Your good days will return in time.’

  King Vardhana trusted Narada’s words and followed his routine.

  Meanwhile, there lived a beautiful girl named Satyavati in the same kingdom, who was devoted to Krishna and an ardent worshipper of Lord Vishnu.

  One day, Narada went to Satyavati’s house.

  Satyavati was as hospitable as she could be with her limited means, and very kind and devoted. When Narada saw her devotion, he said, ‘The lord has chosen a groom for you. When you open your door in the morning tomorrow, the man you see will be your future husband. You will live with him very happily.’

  The maiden stood, perplexed, even as she knew that she must heed the lord’s words.

  Later that night, there was a heavy storm. The blind and poor king came to the maiden’s hut in search of shelter and slept quietly in the veranda outside the front door. As the next morning dawned, the storm subsided and sunshine filled the air. The maiden awoke and opened the front door, excited to see her future husband.

  But alas! She could only see the blind man sleeping outside her door. He appeared to be nothing but a beggar. Still, she woke him up and brought him inside her home.

  She recounted the incident with Narada and said, ‘I am going to marry you anyway. It is the lord’s wish, and I am sure that there is a greater plan in place.’

  Unfortunately, Satyavati’s father did not agree to the match. His daughter was beautiful, and he would not allow her to marry a man who was not only blind but also a beggar.

  ‘My fate is sealed if you do not marry me,’ said Vardhana with sadness. ‘Satyavati, I have lost a kingdom and my eyes. Narada told me that good days would return, and I know somehow that this turn of events is also a turning point for a change in my fortune. But perhaps it is not my fate to marry you at all, and I can’t say that I blame your father for his views!’

  But Satyavati was firm in her decision to marry the beggar, and a simple ceremony finally took place.

  After the wedding, the couple stayed in a small hut. Satyavati worked hard to put food on the table, and nothing really changed for both of them.

  One day, when the young bride was working in the garden, something fell on her head. To her surprise, she found that it was an exquisite diamond necklace. Immediately, she looked u