The Upside-Down King Read online

  ‘O Krishna!’ exclaimed Satyabhama when she saw him. ‘I know that you have not stolen the diamond. My father, Satrajitha, gave that to my uncle to hide somewhere in the forest with King Jambuvanta. If you can trace him, you will find the diamond. I came here to help you but I haven’t been able to locate him yet.’

  Krishna liked Satyabhama’s courage. ‘But why did you choose to help me and not your father?’

  ‘I cannot simply stand by and see you being labelled a thief!’ Satyabhama’s voice quivered with emotion.

  Krishna smiled, and together they resumed the search in the forest. After some time had passed, they noticed torn pieces of cloth on the ground and tracks leading away—it looked as if somebody had been dragged away from there.

  Satyabhama immediately recognized the pieces of cloth. ‘Oh no! These are my uncle’s clothes. I remember that he wore these the same morning that he left for the forest.’

  As they went farther, they saw half-eaten human remains, a lion’s dead body, what was left of the clothes and a gold chain. Satyabhama was aghast at what she saw.

  Krishna consoled her. ‘Clearly Prasenajith came this way only to be eaten by a hungry lion. The poor unsuspecting man! But what happened to the Shamantakamani? It was obviously of no use to the lion.’

  Krishna had just begun searching for the diamond, when he saw some animal tracks leading away from where the clothes were found. Krishna and Satyabhama followed the tracks and soon found themselves inside a cave. To their surprise, there was a baby in a cradle, and the beautiful Shamantakamani hung right on top of the cradle. The entire cave was illuminated by the magical light from the diamond. A young tribal girl was sitting next to the cradle and rocking the baby with her eyes closed, as if she was in her own world.

  Just then, a huge bear-man appeared out of nowhere. Before Krishna could react, the bear man attacked him, and they fought for a long time. Though the bear-man was old, he was quite strong, and it was a long time before he fell to the ground in defeat.

  The old bear-man wondered aloud in a human voice, ‘How can anyone but Lord Rama defeat me? He promised me that he would visit me some day.’

  At those words, Krishna smiled mysteriously.

  The bear-man realized his innocent mistake. He came forward and hugged Krishna tightly. ‘Please forgive my ignorance, Lord! I am Jambuvanta, the bear-man who had served you in your avatar as Lord Rama. It was my earnest desire to wrestle with you but you wouldn’t, and you said that you would do so in your next avatar. I am so sorry that it took me this long to recognize you.’

  Krishna smiled and explained the purpose of his visit.

  ‘I saw a diamond hanging from a chain that was in the mouth of a lion. I was fascinated by this diamond and wanted to bring it for my child. So I fought the lion and killed him. From this day on, please keep the Shamantakamani under your protection,’ said Jambuvanta.

  Then he introduced his beautiful daughter. ‘This is Jambuvati, my motherless child. It will be my good fortune if you get married to her and look after her baby brother too. Then I can retire to the forest.’

  Krishna nodded and got married to Jambuvati, much to the grief of Satyabhama, who stood by, a mere spectator. But Krishna turned to Satyabhama and said enigmatically, ‘Don’t worry.’

  When Krishna returned to Dwarka with the diamond, Satrajitha apologized to the lord for his behaviour and offered his daughter’s hand in marriage. Krishna was already aware of Satyabhama’s devotion and accepted the proposal. Thus, Satyabhama also became Krishna’s wife.

  This story of Shamantakamani is often heard on the fourth day of the month of Bhadrapada, which is also the day of the Ganesha festival.

  Legend has it that on one such festival day, Ganesha ate so much that he could barely walk; he stumbled on a stone and fell down. His stomach burst open and all the sweet laddoos fell out. Ganesha quickly shoved them back in and tied a serpent around his stomach. He looked around to see if anyone had noticed him, but there was no one. He was relieved that there was nobody to poke fun at him.

  But just then, he heard a giggle and then a snicker. He looked up and saw the moon laughing at him.

  Ganesha was upset at Chandra’s behaviour and cursed him without a second thought. ‘Whoever looks at you on the fourth night of Bhadrapada will be subjected to false allegations, particularly theft.’

  Chandra apologized.

  Then Ganesha said, ‘Please don’t worry, Chandra. There is a way to lift this curse. Whoever listens to the story of Shamantakamani will be spared.’

  That is why when we see the moon on the fourth day of Bhadrapada, we listen to the story of the unique diamond to ward off the curse. We also assume that Krishna must have seen Chandra, which is why he was also known as the diamond thief for a brief period.

  Krishna and His Enemies

  Unlike Rama, who had only one enemy, Krishna had multiple enemies. When he was born, his maternal uncle wanted to kill him. Later, his cousins also stood against him. Krishna accepted the realities of his life but followed the path of dharma. Some of his enemies are responsible for making Krishna whom he came to be.

  Srugala Vasudeva

  Srugala Vasudeva or Paundraka Vasudeva, the king of the Pundra kingdom, fancied himself to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and dressed exactly like Krishna. He was an ardent devotee of the sun god, and through his worship to him, Paundraka received an extraordinary chariot and horses. He was so proud of these possessions that he looked down upon Krishna, who did not own horses or a chariot until the war of Mahabharata took place. Paundraka also couldn’t understand why, despite all his efforts, he was not as popular as Krishna.

  His niece Shaibya frequently taunted him—‘A rooster cannot become a peacock.’ Her comments would upset him. Shaibya also happened to love Krishna with all her heart, but she had no hope of getting married to him because of her uncle’s behaviour and malice towards him.

  One fine day, Srugala Vasudeva decided to wage a battle against Krishna to display his superiority. However, Krishna defeated him easily. This is how Krishna took ownership of the chariot and the horses, which later became an integral part of his persona. The chariot was pulled by four white horses, and the animals understood the lord’s mind. Krishna knew ashwa vidya, or the art of understanding the minds of horses, and took care of them as if they were a part of him. That is why Krishna easily became an outstanding charioteer to Arjuna in the Mahabharata. He was the only charioteer in the war who personally looked after the horses’ needs and provided them with compassion at the end of every day. He was well aware that the horses were critical in the fight against the Kauravas.

  Much later, Krishna learnt of Shaibya’s love for him and married her too.

  Kalayavana

  Muchukunda, a famous king and a great warrior, belonged to an illustrious family and the Ikshvaku dynasty. His brother, Ambareesha, and his father, Mandhata, are well known in their own right.

  Once, there was huge war between the devas and the asuras. The devas were looking for a commander-in-chief, and the search led to Indra approaching Muchukunda. ‘O King, please come and take charge as our commander and fight for us.’

  ‘That will be an honour,’ replied Muchukunda, and jumped into this new role with all his enthusiasm.

  He joined the gods in Devaloka and fought a mighty war. At the end of war, he was exhausted.

  Indra said to him, ‘O Muchukunda, our original commander, Karthikeyan, the son of Shiva and Parvati, has arrived. You have helped us in our time of need and protected us for years. Ask me whatever you desire and I will fulfil it.’

  Muchukunda remembered his family and his kingdom. He had been so involved in the war that he hadn’t thought about them for a long, long time. With hope and eagerness, he said to Indra, ‘I want to go back to see my family, children and my subjects. I would like to spend my time with them.’

  Indra responded with sadness, ‘O Muchukunda, a day in the Devaloka is not equivalent to a day on earth. You hav