The Upside-Down King Read online

  ‘Many people want this horse in their stables. Duryodhana, you mustn’t keep anything that doesn’t really belong to you. It will be the cause of a big war,’ said Krishna while gazing into the distance, almost as if he could see into the future.

  The horse returned to the location of the duel between Balarama and Bhima. When Balarama saw Duryodhana approaching in the distance, he was glad. ‘My other student is here now, and he will fight on my behalf. I am sure that I will win in the end and get the horse,’ he said.

  Soon, the group reached Balarama and Bhima.

  ‘Come, Duryodhana, fight in my stead,’ said Balarama.

  But Duryodhana was not listening. He ran close to the horse and caught hold of one of its legs, so that the horse could not move.

  Balarama dropped his mace at the audacity of his student and caught hold of another leg of the horse. Bhima assumed that Balarama or Duryodhana intended to make away with the horse, and he also sprinted towards it and caught hold of its third limb.

  The poor horse stood there, stunned.

  Krishna came and patted the horse gently. Almost as if by magic, the horse transformed and returned into the original form—that of Queen Satyavati.

  Rukmini and Satyabhama giggled at the sight of Duryodhana, Bhima and Balarama still holding this beautiful woman.

  ‘That was a splendid drama, indeed,’ Krishna said to Narada.

  ‘It was all with your help, my lord,’ replied the sage.

  Krishna explained further. ‘Revati wanted to see her husband fight, and Balarama was desperate for an equal opponent. On any normal day, Balarama and Bhima would not have fought like they did over the horse. The circumstances had to be created like today. So, Revati’s desire is now fulfilled. Duryodhana told his uncle that he would not touch a cowherd’s feet or hold his leg, but today he was doing what he would perceive to be much worse—holding the leg of an animal. Bhima had also become arrogant after the success of the Rajasuya yagna, and was proud that he was the one to slay Jarasandha. In his self-importance, he agreed to fight his teacher and forgot about the big role destiny plays in our lives.’

  He turned to his wives and said, ‘You wanted to see a drama with a happy ending. This is the best I could arrange. The desire to own creates wars between cousins, teachers and students, family and friends. On the other hand, see how King Vardhana forgot about everything and focused only on his wife. He also had to be taught a lesson—that the responsibility of a king towards his subjects is of supreme importance and must not be compromised.’

  Everybody bent their head in shame. Rukmini said, ‘O Krishna! Narada had said to Vardhana that only when three and a half diamonds touched Satyavati would she become human again. But I don’t understand. Tell me, where were the diamonds?’

  Krishna smiled. ‘That is so simple, my dear wife. Balarama’s strength is as much as that of one diamond, Bhima’s is another, and Duryodhana’s upper body is half the strength of a diamond too.’

  ‘But that is two and a half, dear Krishna,’ said Satyabhama. ‘Aren’t you forgetting yourself ?’

  Before Krishna could respond, Narada interrupted, ‘He is the real diamond. The lord was able to kill Kamsa and Chanura at the age of sixteen without any preparation.’

  There was a peaceful silence as everybody got lost in their own thoughts.

  Satyavati finally returned to her husband and her kingdom, and the king was ecstatic to be reunited with his beloved wife.

  This is how the three and a half diamonds changed the life of Vardhana and Satyavati.

  The Demon Who Spat

  There once lived a powerful demon named Gaya.

  One day, Gaya was riding his chariot in the skies. Suddenly, he felt an excess of saliva in his mouth and, impulsively, he spat it out. Unintentionally, the spit fell right into the holy water that Lord Krishna was holding in his palms while performing a salutation to the sun god.

  Krishna looked around to see how the spit had fallen into his palms, as Gaya realized his folly and immediately hid from Krishna’s line of vision. Krishna was upset and made a loud vow. ‘I will kill whoever has dirtied the holy water in my palms.’

  Gaya, who heard the vow loud and clear, became frightened. He prayed to the devas, but nobody came to his aid. Then he went to Arjuna. He knew that Arjuna would also not protect him if he knew the whole story, so Gaya hid half the truth and said, ‘Someone has decided to kill me, sir. I am begging you for protection. You are a king and the protector of whoever approaches you. Please, I will die without your help.’

  Arjuna took pity on Gaya and forgot to ask him for more details. What a state for a powerful asura to be in! In a hurry, he assured Gaya, ‘Please don’t worry. I will protect you, no matter what.’

  ‘Sir, please promise me that in the name of Krishna. Only then will I believe your words.’

  ‘Of course. I always keep my word. But for your satisfaction, I take a true oath in the name of Krishna, and I promise you that nobody will lay a finger on you.’

  Gaya breathed a deep sigh of relief.

  ‘Now tell me, who wants to slay you?’ asked Arjuna.

  ‘It is Krishna himself,’ came the timid reply.

  Arjuna became livid. ‘Why didn’t you tell me that before, Gaya? I don’t want to fight Krishna. He is my dearest friend and my protector. Alas! How can I fight him?’ Arjuna regretted the promise he had given Gaya.

  Arjuna’s family heard the news, and his brothers, mother, Kunti, and wives Draupadi and Subhadra began discussing the way forward. Dharmaraja said, ‘It is the duty of a king to fulfil his words.’

  ‘But at what cost?’ questioned Subhadra.

  ‘You should punish Gaya and kill him,’ advised Bhima. ‘He has hidden information from you.’

  But there was no solution in sight and the family was worried.

  Draupadi prayed, ‘Krishna will help find a solution for us.’

  Just then, the wandering sage Narada came to the scene. He patiently heard their problem and said, ‘I think the best way to handle this is to mediate through Subhadra, who is also Krishna’s sister.’

  That sounded like a good idea to everyone. Who better to mediate than Subhadra? Subhadra immediately set out to meet her brother in Dwarka.

  Narada, however, also departed and quickly made his way to Dwarka too. Before Subhadra could reach and meet her brother, Narada met Krishna. He said to him, ‘Your brother-in-law Arjuna has promised his protection to Gaya, the same demon who spit in your palms. Subhadra is on her way here to speak to you in an effort to reach some sort of compromise. Please do as you think best.’

  When Subhadra finally met her brother and apprised him of the situation, Krishna was firm and refused to compromise. His wives Rukmini and Satyabhama supported his decision. In the end, Krishna said, ‘Subhadra, you must choose to support one of us—either your husband or your brother. You cannot have it both ways.’

  ‘Brother, you put me in a very difficult position. I do not want to choose sides, but if I must, I choose to stand by my husband in this matter.’

  The writing on the wall was clear. The danger of an impending war was all too real.

  Soon, Krishna and Arjuna faced each other in the battlefield. Two men who were dear relatives and even better friends found themselves on opposite sides as enemies—all for the sake of the asura Gaya. It was then that the devas intervened and brought the war to a halt. Gaya apologized to Krishna profusely and became his ardent devotee.

  Later, Gaya prayed to the lord in his form as Vishnu and became very powerful in time. As is the case with asuras, he also became arrogant. He abused the devas and the common folk, until the devas finally approached Vishnu to seek his help.

  Vishnu heard their pleas and smiled. ‘I will take care of everything,’ he said and sent them on their way.

  One day, Brahma came to meet Gaya and said, ‘You are such a healthy, tall and well-built man. Nobody has a body quite like yours. I intend to perform a great yagna, and for such a task