The next day Krishna and Rāma went forth to view the capital of Mathura
in all its holiday splendor.
They found the gates of the palace made of pure gold and studded with
jewels and crystal. The broad street of the city and the pretty parks
all luxuriant were with rare flowers and wondrous foliage. The splendid
houses all seemed clothed and beautified for the ceremonies of the Bow,
the symbol of the warrior's might, that were to take place that day.
It chanced that a washerman passed their way, balancing upon his head
the clothes and making way towards the palace with them. In a spirit of
mischief, Krishna said: "Give us the clothes that you carry to Kangsa,
good fellow, for in need of them are we. Give them, and more I will give
unto thee."
But the washerman in insolence replied:
"Upstarts, who are ye to dare to aspire to wear the clothes that belong
to Kangsa the Great? Never have ye seen such clothes, and unfit to even
touch them are ye. Be off and back to the country from whence ye came,
or I will call the guards, who by my word will throw you in chains."
Krishna, with a smile and a wave of his bare hand, severed the head from
the trunk of the washerman and proceeded to take the clothes.
And a weaver, who was passing their way, helped them put on the
garments; while a florist, who near by was weaving garlands for Kangsa,
came to Rāma and Krishna and bedecked them with garlands and flowers.
And thus clad for the festivities, onward they went; but first the
weaver and the florist were rewarded with great spiritual powers by
Krishna, the giver of all good things to those who give unto Him their
love.
As they proceeded on their way, a woman of great deformity came near. A
parcel she held in her hands, which she guarded carefully. As close she
came to Krishna, she lifted her head and gazed on His face.
For a moment she stood, a smile transforming her face. Then the bowl of
precious sandal-wood ointment, which to the King Kangsa she carried, to
Krishna she reached and said unto Him: "O Youth, more beautiful art Thou
than aught that mine eye has ever rested upon. To those who are sweet
should sweetness be given. I am a servant of King Kangsa. This fragrant
unguent for him I make, but more fitted by far is its richness for Thee.
Oh, allow me to lay it at Thy feet!"
Krishna looked at her deformity, then at her love-filled eyes, and
putting His feet on the tips of her toes and His two fingers under her
chin. He wrenched her form upward; and she, who was known as the
Tribakrā (she of three bends) was a hunchback no more, but tall and
straight was she; and her face never lost the beauty it bore when it
looked on the face of Krishna as she offered to anoint Him with zeal and
love.
And from that day forth she was known as the most surpassingly beautiful
woman in all that land.
Thus love for Krishna creates a charm that grows into beauty and
nevermore fades.
Thus all day long He wandered about, healing the sinful, the sick and
the dying by the very breath of His passing.
And to sorrowing fathers and mothers that clay long lost sons were
restored, and even the dead were brought to life and were seen with the
eye and felt with the heart and encircled with the arms of those whose
hearts were empty for them.
And thus the Lord with benign smile brought to all the gifts of life and
love, and none were there in all that land who felt not the power
thereof.