Thus chanted by the king of the celestials, Kesava smiled and replied
gravely saying:—"Thou art, O Indra, the king of the celestials: we are
mere mortals, O king of the universe. Thou must therefore forgive me,
for the offence I have committed. Let this Pārijatā tree be taken to its
proper place. I remove it to satisfy Satya's desire. Take back also this
thy thunderbolt which thou didst hurl at me; for this is your proper
weapon—O slayer of thy enemies". Whereto Indra replied, saying:—"O lord,
thou dost beguile us in calling thyself mortal. We are endowed with
subtlety of discernment and therefore know thee as gifted with six
qualities. Whoever thou mayst be, O slayer of thine enemies, thou art
engaged in the active preservation of earth and thou removest the thorns
implanted in her bosom. O Krishna, do thou take this Pārijatā tree to
the city of Dwārakā and when thou shalt renounce this land of mortals it
shall no longer remain on earth".
Parāçara said:—Having agreed to the proposal of the king of the
celestials Hari returned to earth eulogised by attendant sages, saints
and quiristers of heaven.
When Krishna arrived over the city of Dwārakā he blew his conch and
delighted the inhabitants with the sound. Thereupon alighting from
Garuda he proceeded with Satyabhāmā to her garden, and there planted the
great Pārijāta tree the smell of which extended over the earth for three
furlongs and an approach to which enabled every one to recollect the
events of a pristine existence. And beholding their faces in that tree
the Yadavas know themselves in their (original) celestial forms. Then
Krishna took possession of wealth, elephants, horses and men which he
had recovered from Naraka and which had brought to Dwārakā by the
servants of the demon; and at an auspicious hour he married all the
maidens whom Naraka had carried off from their friends; and
simultaneously at the same time in different mansions he received the
hands the damsels. The number of the maidens was sixteen thousand and
one hundred and in so many forms did the slayer of Madhu appear, so that
every one of them thought that he had wedded her in his single person.
Hari the creator of the world and the assumer of the universal shape
lived severally in the mansion of each of these his wives.