*SKANDHA X. CHAP. 82-84*
There was a total eclipse of the sun. Krishna and all the Yadavas went
to Kurukshetra to bathe on the occasion. Nanda, the Gopas and Gopis, all
came there. Kunti and her sons, Bhishma, Drona and all the kings also
went. They all went together. (The Bhagavata Purana carefully avoids the
battle at Kurukshetra. It barely mentions the duel between Bhima and
Duryodhana. According to the Mahabharata, Bhishma, Drona and all the
brothers of Duryodhana had been killed before the fight took place
between Bhima and Duryodhana. But we find here that they were all
present at the Kurukshetra meeting. A slight explanation will be
necessary to put the readers on the right line of thought. The ideal of
the Mahabharata was Tatva-masi, the unity of Jiva and Ishvara. Krishna
and Arjuna looked alike. They were close companions. This Advaita view
struck at the root of Upasana excepting as a means to an end; it put
into the shade altogether the Path of compassion, the Path of service of
which Narada is the guide for this Kalpa. So we find even Bhishma being
killed. Bhishma died at Uttarayana and necessarily passed through the
Devayana Marga, as an Upasaka. Whatever might be the goal of Upasana,
the Bhagavata Purana treats of Upasana as an end and not as a means. The
Bhagavatas, the Satvatas, the Vaishnavas do not ask for Nirvana Mukti
they ask for devotion to the Lord of the Universe. They work in the
Universe as servants of the Lord, taking the whole Universe to be their
own selves. The Kurukshetra battle is therefore out of place in the
Bhagavata Purana. This explains the great meeting at Kurukshetra instead
of the Great Annihilation.)
Kunti complained to Vasudeva that he did not make any enquiries about
her and her sons, in her many afflictions. Vasudeva said, for fear of
Kansa the Yadavas had scattered themselves, and they could not make
enquiries about one another. The Kurus, Pandavas and the kings were all
glad to see Krishna and his wives. Rama and Krishna duly honoured them
all and made valuable presents. They all admired the good fortune of the
Yadavas, in having Krishna always in their midst.
Nanda and Yasoda were duly respected by Vasudeva and his wives.
Krishna met the Gopis in privacy. He embraced them all, and, after
enquiry about their safety, said smilingly: -- "Do you remember us, O
friends? For the good of those whom we call our own, we have been long
in putting down the adverse party. Or do you think little of us, feeling
that we have been ungrateful to you? Know for certain, it is the Lord
who unites and separates all beings. As the wind unites masses of
clouds, grass, cotton and dust particles, and again disunites them, so
the creator does with all beings. Devotion to me serves to make beings
immortal. How glad I am that you have this love to me, for by that love
you gain me back. I am the beginning and end of all beings, I am both
inside and outside. As the material objects resolve themselves into the
primal elements, (Akasa, air, fire, water and earth), so (the material
parts in) all beings resolve themselves into the primal elements. Atma
pervades all beings as the conscious Perceiver (Atma). Know both (the
Perceiver and the Perceived) to be reflected in me, the Supreme and the
Immutable."
The Gopis were taught this Adhyatma teaching by Sri Krishna. Bearing
this teaching constantly in mind, they cast off the Jiva sheath (Jiva
Kosa) and they attained Krishna. And they said: -- "O Krishna let thy
lotus feet be ever present in our minds, home-seeking though we may have
been. The lords of Yoga by their profound wisdom meditate on thy feet in
their hearts. It is by thy feet that those that have fallen into the
well of Sansara are raised."
(Here we take a final leave of the Gopis. They had known Krishna as the
Purusha of the Heart. They now knew him as the all-pervading Purusha.
They were drawn back into the bosom of that Purusha, their Linga
(Sukshma) Sarira destroyed. They now entered the divine state, but even
there they did not forget the lotus feet of Krishna. They became centres
of devotional love in the bosom of the Universal Lord.)
Yudisthira and other friends of Krishna addressed him as all-incarnating
Purusha. The wives of Krishna related to Draupadi how they came to be
married to him. The Rishis addressed Sri Krishna as Ishvara. They then
took leave of him. Vasudeva however detained them, saying they should
instruct him as to how he could exhaust his Karma. Narada said it was no
wonder that he should ask this question of them and not of Krishna. For
proximity is the cause of disregard.