Stories from Narada Pancaratra

1 - The cursing of Narada Muni in his life as Upabahana.

Long ago, Lord Brahma had become angry with his son, Narada
Muni. Brahma cursed him to take birth as one of the Gandharvas on the
heavenly planets who are known for their excellent singing. Thus, Narada
Muni took birth as Upahabana, the king of the Gandharvas.

Once upon a time Lord Brahma arranged a big festival for all the
demingods and sages. At that time Brahma asked Upabahana to please
sing about a pastime describing Lord Krishna leaving for Mathura. When
Krishna was leaving Vrindavan to go to Mathura the gopis and the gopas
naturally became very sorrowful, being separated from their dearmost
friend.

Being ordered by Brahma during the festival, Upabahana Gandharva

very expectly began to sing about Lord Krishna's departure for Mathura.
Hearing the intense feelings of separation of the gopis and gopas for Lord
Krishna, Brahma and the demigods became so captivated with emotions
that they sometimes didn't remember if they were standing or sitting
down. ( Just like young boys sometimes forget to dress properly when it is
raining if they are fully absorbed in their favorite activities). In this way
Upabahana greatly pleased the demigods by his devotional songs about
Lord Krishna.

However, at one point, Upabahana, who was none other then

Narada Muni,  remembered Lord Krishna very intensely, and he became
so ecstatic that his voice choked up and he could no longer sing properly.
The demigods, who were enjoying Upabahana's performance became
furious when he suddenly stopped singing. The anger that they felt,
produced a huge fire from their mouths which blazed in all directions.

Upabahana was greatly afraid that the fire would burn him to ashes.
In this great danger Upabarhana quickly remembered Lord Krishna and
offered Him prayers. Because of Upabahana's prayers Lord
Shyamasundara suddenly appeared in the sky in an excellent chariot with
one thousands wheels and the chariot was drawn by one thousands white
horses. It was travelling with the speed of the mind and inside there were
three million apartments which contained everything imaginable for
enjoyment. In the middle of the chariot was the ever - youthful Lord
Shyamasundara, who was dressed in fine yellow garments. The Lord was
decorated with many jewel  ornaments and He was smiling brightly.

After offering many beautiful prayers glorifying the Lord, Upabahana said:

“My dear Lord, please look at this huge fire which has been produced by
the curse of the demigods and which will burn me to ashes. after you
leave. O Lord of the universe, kindly save me for I am without any shelter
and very afraid.”

Lord Shyamasundara replyed :

“Dear Upabahana, O king of the Gandhavas, please be patient and give up

your fear. The sinful reactions that have been accumulated from millions
of births are reduced to nil for those who chant My holy names and
mantras with faith and devotion. Yamaraja does not consider it necessary
to even write down such person's names. In fact, the names of those who
dedicate their lives to chanting the holy names of the Lord are not found
in Yamarja's list of persons who should be punished. Such persons go to
My abode, Goloka, to engage in My eternal service.”

The Lord continued :

“As long as they live in this world , My devotees wander about freely like
maddened elephants. All of their sinful reactions run away, just as snakes
fearfully flee from Garuda. I personally give My holy names and matras to
someone so that through that person, others will be delivered when they
initiate them into the chanting of My holy names.”

After reassuring Upabahana Lord Shyamasundara left in His chariot. 

Then Lord Mahadeva (Shiva) ordered Brahma to stop the devastating fire
created by the demigods. Lord Brahma deeply thought about the situation
and then he carefully distributed the fire in different useful areas in the
universe. In this way Brahma arranged that the devastating fire was used
for different beneficial purposes instead of burning Upabahana and all the
three planetary systems untimely.

Lessons to be learnt :

As soon as their lusty desires were not fulfilled even the demigods
became overwhelmed by anger. This anger took form as a blazing fire
which was meant to detroy Upabahana who was actually faultless.

Anger, lust and greed are the three gateways to hell.

If we turn to Krishna in dangerous situations the Lord will always protect

His devotees just like He protected Upabahana.

Even faultless persons are sometimes cursed unnecessary. However, for a

devotee there is never any danger and by the mercy of the Lord even an
inauspicious situation can be transformed into an auspicious occasion.
2 - Subhadra, the son of a brahmana, experiencing the glories of The
Lord's prasadam!

Once there was a most foolish, sinful brahmana who lived in Kanyakubja.
He was the priest of the entire village but he never performed any pious
activites , either knowingly or unknowingly, and he never worshiped Lord
Krsna. In fact, he did not even like to speak to, see, or touch the devotees
of Lord Krsna. In that condition he achieved some rare, good fortune
since he somehow received a small quantity of the Lord's remnants of
food.

One day the brahmana took his son, Subhadra, and went to attend a
wedding in his friend's house. On the way back home, they were both
extremely hungry and somehow they found and ate some of the Lord's
remnants that had fallen on the ground even though it had become
completely dry after being eaten by a wild animal.

Later,when they came to the beautiful river, Candrabhaga. the son said :"
O father, I am very hungry and thirsty. Let us bathe in the river and then
have something to eat!" 

The father replied : " My dear son, this dense forest by the side of the
river is extremely fearful. Let us wait to have our meal until we soon arrive
in a nearby village. Please be tolerant and continue walking."

Upon hearing this, the son smiled but he was actually very angry. Indeed,
he looked at his father with eyes that were as red as a lotus and spoke as
follows :

 "I am a ten years old boy and you are an old man, experienced and wise.
Even though it is always the custom of the father to impart knowledge to
his son your very life and study of the scriptures are useless since you are
evil-minded! Only the life of an intelligent person becomes successful and
a source of happiness. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna,
who has created inumerable universes and who is giving protection to all
moving and non-moving living entities, will certainly protect me. ”
The son continued : ”Until the time is ripe, one does not die even if he is
pierced by hundreds of arrows. However, when his allotted time is over, a
man dies simply by being hit by a blade of grass. Some people die within
the womb, some die soon after they are born, some die in the prime of
youth, and some give up their bodies at an old age. As a result of their
karma, some live for a long time, some suffer diseases, some live without
any disease, some are rich, and others remain poor. Out of fear of God,
the wind is blowing, the sun is shining, Indra is supplying rain, fire burns,
and death takes it toll on all living entities. He who has made swans white,
parrots green and peacocks enchanting will certainly protect me. My dear
father, please worship Lord Govinda, the son of Nanda, the master of the
demigods,and the most blissul Personality of Godhead."

After saying this to his father, Subhadra bathed in the Candrabhaga,

drank some  water  and then sat down and ate some laddus.

The father, after listening to his son's intelligent statements, began to

shed tears of joy. He then embrassed his son affectionately and kissed
him.

Thereafter the father also bathed in the river and sat down to perform his
daily duty of chanting mantras, offering prayers and worshiping the Lord.
Upon seeing his father  thus engaged, the brahmana boy entered the
green forest where he first collected five large leaves to use as eating
plates.

 He then  collected  many ripe fruits like jujube, wood-apple, very soft
pomgrenate, juicy blackberries, lemons, nice dates and many other
varieties of fruits. He also collected some beautiful white lotus flowers and
some fully blossomed red water lillies. In this way Subhadra picked many
different flowers and he started feeling the burden of all the items he had
collected.

Despite the difficulty in carrying his load, Subhadra began to slowly

proceed. The simple-minded boy did not eat even a single piece of fruit
while wondering whether such an act would be a sin or piety. He simply
collected the ingredients to give to his father for his puja.
While going back he suddenly saw a tiger's cave. Becoming  frightened he
loudly cried out : "O father, O father!"

However, Subhadra could not see his father anywhere and the next
moment a large tiger appeared just in front of him. Being extremely afraid
he began to meditate on the lotus feet of Govinda with great
determination.Being terribly afraid Subhadra began chanting the ten
names of the Lord : Sri Hari, Narahari, Rama, Sri Krsna, Visnu, Madhava,
Damodhara, Hrsikesa, Mukunda and Madhusudana while he quickly
returned to the lake where he had come from.

As the result of his meditation, the boy saw Sri Krsna within his heart. The
Lord had two arms, He was dressed in yellow silk cloth. He was smiling
beautifully, and His complexion was like that of a newly formed cloud. His
beauty excelled that of millions of Cupids. His form was supremely
pleasing to the eyes, being exquisitely attractive, and He appeared to be
most compassionate toward His devotees. His beautiful lotus-like eyes
were fixed on His consort, Radhika. He looked even more charming
because of decorating His head with garlands of jasmine flowers.His two
jeweled earrings enhanced the beauty of His cheeks and His broad chest
was adorned with the best of precious gem, Kaustubha. With great
devotion Subhadra offered The Lord clean water, as well as the fruit and
flowers that he had collected.

Meanwhile, the tiger, although very near, did not advance any further,
seeing him engaged in meditating on the lotus feet of Krsna. Indeed, after
just a moment, the tiger went away.

Subhadra, who had just seen a ferocious tiger with a fierce looking mouth,
sharp teeth, formidable eyes and a large belly, continued to meditate on
the lotus feet of  Krishna, who removes the conditions of birth, death and
old age from thoes who surrender to Him.

Out of compassion for Subhadra, the great sage Narayana Rsi, who is
nondifferent from the son of Nanda, suddendly came to the lake.The great
sage, who was very affectionate to the fallen souls, blessed Subhadra by
placing His hand on his head. 
Narayana Rsi said : "O immensely fortunate Subhadra, your life is
successful and the family in which you were born is particular glorious.

You have obtained spiritual knowledge and you have developed

devotional service to Krishna by honoring the Lord's remnants that had
even fallen on the ground and had thus become completely dry after
being eaten by a wild animal. My dear child, who can describe the glories
of the remnants of Lord Krishna's food ? Even the four Vedas are unable to
describe them. O best among the twiceborn, ask for me for any
benediction you desire."

The fortunate boy, Subhadra said : "Kindly bestow upon me the rarely
attained pure devotional serivce at Your lotus feet. This servant does not
want any benediction or sensegratification like professional worshipers."

Meanwhile, Subhadra's father could not find his son, even after searching
for a long time. Overwhelmed with  distress and grief due to separation
from his son, he returned home while crying pitifully.Subhadra's mother
was almost ready to commit suicide after hearing the news of her son.
Although the father also decided to give up his life, he did not do so since
he had a very auspicious dream.

Thereafter the brahmana couple left home, accomanied by their friends,

and entered the dense forest, looking for their son.

After searching throughout the forest they finally arrived at the previously
mentioned lake. There they saw Subhadra appearing as brilliant as the
sun, sitting under a bhayan tree, absorbed in meditation.

With great happiness, the brahmana couple went and affectionately

embraced their son while kissing him repeatedly.

As Subhadra told them about all that had happened, the brahmana couple
and their friends listened with rapt attention.
Finally, the brahmana couple, their son, and their friends prepared to
return home. They crossed the river Candrabhaga and evntually arrived at
their city.

When he saw the prowess of Subhadra, the king of the province was very
impressed. He aranged for him to marry his daughter, who was decorated
with valuable jewels and ornaments.The kings daughter was young and
beautiful, having a dark complextion that shone like gold. She was chaste
and greatly fortunate. Indeed, she was a plenary portion of Laksmi.

Being very satisfied, the king gave his daughter-in-law one thousand great
elephants, one million horses, and one thousand chariots as dowry. The
king also gave Subhadra one thousand servants and one thousands
beautiful maidservants who all had very sweet voices, as well as one
million gold coins and  many other excellent and rare gifts.  After marrying
their daughter to the son of a brahmana, the king accompanied his
daughter to his son-in-law's house.

When they approached Subhadra's city, the king saw it to be more

opulent than the kingdom of Indra.The town was very bright and pleasant,
shining from many crystals and jewels. There were three billion houses
and nine billion temples in that city. The city was surrounded by seven
walls and three moats which made it impossible for enemies to enter.

Subhadra's own house was decorated with precious stones which made it
very opulent.The whole house shone brightly due to the reflection of
countless jewels.The courtyard was adorned with raised altars that were
bedecked with jewels.The mainroad of the city had been cleanes with
water mixed with kunkum. Even the city's boundary wall was decorated
with jewels and it was so high that it appeared to touch the sky.When the
king saw the beauty of the city, the became truly astonished and
Subhadra,along with his parents were also extremely happy.

As soon as they entered the city, all of the gifts that the king had given,
such as the three hundred thousand elephants, one million horses and
four million infantry, also arrived there.The prime minister of the city
greeted the brahmana boy, Subhadra,very respectfully. Elephants,
brahmanas, dancers, chaste ladies having their husband and children, and
pitchers filled with water , as well as other auspicious articles were kept
ready for Subhadra's reception. The prime minister himself came,
dismounted his elephant, and bowed down before him.

The prime minister personally lead him inside his jewel-studded residence
and respectfully offered him a throne made of jewels to sit on.As a matter
of respect, the parents of the bride and groom were also offered jeweled
thrones. The prime minister then served Subhadra in various ways, such
as fanning him with a white camara and holding an unbrella decorated
with diamonds over his head.

The brahmana boy, Subhadra, thus appeared as oppulent as Indra, the

king of heaven, in the assembly of the demigods. Finally, after being given
all kinds of hospitality by his son-in-law the king returned home.
Thereafter Subhadra ruled his kingdom for three hundred thousands
years.

Many yeas later, Subhadra's father one day went to the forest where he
was eaten by a tiger.His mother was a chaste and greatly fortunate lady.
She gave up her life, along with her husband. At this time, Subhadra's
father and mother boarded a divine jewel-studded vehicle and went to the
abode of Lord Krishna. Because he had previously honored Lord Krishna's
remnants, his father's entire body, including his bones had become
purified and because of this, the tiger also became purified and
accommapanied the brahmana couple to the spiritual world along with her
cub.

Many years later Subhadra eventually gave up his body on the banks of
the Ganges in the Himalayas after he had handed over his opulent
kingdom to his son. Subhadra then too birth from the womb of the sage,
Mrkandu's wife and he thus appeared as the celebrated sage,
Markendeya and on the strenght of Sri Narayana Rsi's benediction
Markendeya continued to live for seven kalpas.

Such are the glories of the remnants of Sri Krishna's food. Simply by
eating a particle of the Lord's prasada, the brahmana boy, Subhadra,
obtained such an exalted position. The glories of the Lord's prasada
remains undiminished, even if it is touched by the mouth of a dog.
 If this is the result of unknowingly eating some of Krishna's remnants that
were lying dried -up by the side of the road then who can describe the
result one obtains by daily eating Krishna's prasada in full knowledge and
with devotion ? Even the four Vedas are incabable of describing the
glories of such a person." 

Lessons to be learnt :

The brahmana boy and his father developed deep affction for the Lord
simply by eating the remnants of the Lord and by the mercy of the Lord all
of their desires were fulfilled.

Sometimes the son is more intelligent and devoted to the Lord than his
father. The devotional service of the son greatly purify the members of his
entire family and bring them back Home-back to Godhead

While seeing the ferocious tiger, Subhadra gave up all fear, simply by
meditating on the Lord in his heart.

Krishna, as the Supersoul in the heart of the tiger, guided the tiger from
within to leave the devoted boy alone. Therefore, always remember the
Lord in all fearful situations.