Story of Sri Krishna's Birth - Part 3

The long suspense

It has been a very long time since Arjuna left along with Lord Krishna to Dwaraka and there was no information from him about his whereabouts. The Pandavas and mother Kunti were getting worried. Yudhistra's face was becoming pale with anxiety and constant agitation. Day by day his face was becoming dimmer and dimmer and he was sinking in agony. Dharmaraja (Yudhistra) told his brothers, "I see ominous things all around. I see only inauspiciousness, ill-fortune and negation of joy. I thought this was my imagination due to my sadness and anxiety. But, I could not succeed and muster up courage and confidence."

"To make things worse, I saw some scenes that are contrary to established morals and Dharma. The Courts of Justice in this kingdom have been receiving petitions and pleas regarding wrongs, injustices and misdeeds which make me grieve deeply. I saw some situations which were even worse. Last evening, I saw a mother cow refusing to nurse and feed her new-born calf! This is quite strange and contrary to nature. I saw some women wantonly loitering in the bazaar. I hoped that they would rush into their homes when they saw me; No. Instead, they started staring at me. They had no reverence for authority. They went on as if I was not in the picture. They continued to talk without restraint to the menfolk. I saw all this with my own eyes. I simply proceeded from that horrid place."

"Very near the Raja Bhavan, when I was about to enter, I saw a Brahmin selling milk and curds! I saw people emerging out of their houses and closing the doors behind them. I found them fixing an iron thing to the doors so that it can't be opened. (They were locking the doors for fear of thieves.) My mind was very much concerned with all these tragic transformations."

"For, how else are we to explain such a fact as this: a wife quarreled with her husband and is arguing before the judge in court that she should be permitted to go to her parents, leaving him to himself. How I am to face such a plea in court that she should be permitted to dissolve the marriage and leave for her parent's home, deserting her husband? A petition from such a wife was admitted yesterday in the Court of Justice! How am I to ignore such disgraces?"

"Yesterday, the horses in the royal stables started weeping. They were shedding copious tears, the workers in the stables reported. These are the indications of wholesale destruction, not of any minor danger or small evil."

Meanwhile, a guard from the main entrance rushed in announcing that the soldiers had spotted Arjuna approaching the outskirts of the city. 

Please wait for the next installment till tomorrow!

Jai Sai Ram