Kṛṣṇa later married Satrājit's daughter and received a full dowry. As described in Chapter Fifty-seven, which contains forty-two verses, both Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa went to Hastināpura, having heard about the fire in the shellac house of the Pāṇḍavas. After Satrājit was killed by Śatadhanvā at the instigation of Akrūra and Kṛtavarmā, Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa returned to Dvārakā. Śatadhanvā left the Syamantaka jewel with Akrūra and fled to the forest. Thus although Kṛṣṇa killed Śatadhanvā, He was unable to retrieve the jewel. Finally the jewel was discovered and awarded to Akrūra. Chapter Fifty-eight contains fifty-eight verses. After the Pāṇḍavas finished living incognito in the forest, Kṛṣṇa went to Indraprastha to see them. He then married five wives, headed by Kālindī. After Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna set fire to the Khāṇḍava Forest, Arjuna received the Gāṇḍīva bow. The demon Maya Dānava constructed an assembly house for the Pāṇḍavas, and Duryodhana was very much aggrieved.
Satadhanva
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13
SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)
Taking advantage of this opportunity, O King, Akrūra and Kṛtavarmā went to Śatadhanvā and said, "Why not take the Syamantaka jewel?
His mind thus influenced by their advice, wicked Śatadhanvā murdered Satrājit in his sleep simply out of greed. In this way the sinful Śatadhanvā shortened his own life span.
As the women of Satrājit's palace screamed and helplessly wept, Śatadhanvā took the jewel and left, like a butcher after he has killed some animals.
The Supreme Lord returned to His capital with His wife and elder brother. After arriving in Dvārakā, He readied Himself to kill Śatadhanvā and retrieve the jewel from him.
Upon learning that Lord Kṛṣṇa was preparing to kill him, Śatadhanvā was struck with fear. To save his life he approached Kṛtavarmā and begged him for help, but Kṛtavarmā replied as follows.
His appeal refused, Śatadhanvā went to Akrūra and begged him for protection. But Akrūra similarly told him, "Who would oppose the two Personalities of Godhead if he knew Their strength?
His appeal thus rejected by Akrūra also, Śatadhanvā placed the precious jewel in Akrūra's care and fled on a horse that could travel one hundred yojanas (eight hundred miles).
In a garden on the outskirts of Mithilā, the horse Śatadhanvā was riding collapsed. Terrified, he abandoned the horse and began to flee on foot, with Kṛṣṇa in angry pursuit.
As Śatadhanvā fled on foot, the Supreme Lord, also going on foot, cut off his head with His sharp-edged disc. The Lord then searched Śatadhanvā's upper and lower garments for the Syamantaka jewel.
Not finding the jewel, Lord Kṛṣṇa went to His elder brother and said, "We have killed Śatadhanvā uselessly. The jewel isn't here."
To this Lord Balarāma replied, "Indeed, Śatadhanvā must have placed the jewel in the care of someone. You should return to Our city and find that person.
Lord Keśava arrived in Dvārakā and described the demise of Śatadhanvā and His own failure to find the Syamantaka jewel. He spoke in a way that would please His beloved, Satyabhāmā.
When Akrūra and Kṛtavarmā, who had originally incited Śatadhanvā to commit his crime, heard that he had been killed, they fled Dvārakā in terror and took up residence elsewhere.
Lord Kṛṣṇa honored Akrūra, greeted him confidentially and spoke pleasant words with him. Then the Lord, who was fully aware of Akrūra's heart by virtue of His being the knower of everything, smiled and addressed him: "O master of charity, surely the opulent Syamantaka jewel was left in your care by Śatadhanvā and is still with you. Indeed, We have known this all along.
Aśokavardhana will be followed by Suyaśā, whose son will be Saṅgata. His son will be Śāliśūka, Śāliśūka's son will be Somaśarmā, and Somaśarmā's son will be Śatadhanvā. His son will be known as Brhadratha.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
When Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were away from the city of Dvārakā, there was a conspiracy to take the Syamantaka jewel away from Satrājit. The chief conspirator was Śatadhanvā, who was among those who had wanted to marry Satyabhāmā, Satrājit's beautiful daughter. Satrājit had promised that he would give his beautiful daughter in charity to various candidates, but later the decision was changed, and Satyabhāmā was given to Kṛṣṇa along with the Syamantaka jewel. Satrājit had no desire to give the jewel away with his daughter, and Kṛṣṇa, knowing his mentality, accepted his daughter but returned the jewel. After getting back the jewel from Kṛṣṇa, he was satisfied and kept it with him always. But in the absence of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma there was a conspiracy by many men, including even Akrūra and Kṛtavarmā, who were devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa, to take the jewel from Satrājit. Akrūra and Kṛtavarmā joined the conspiracy because they wanted the jewel for Kṛṣṇa. They knew that Kṛṣṇa wanted the jewel and that Satrājit had not delivered it properly. Others joined the conspiracy because they were disappointed in not having the hand of Satyabhāmā. Some of them incited Śatadhanvā to kill Satrājit and take away the jewel.
Similarly, Kṛtavarmā was a devotee, but because of his intimate association with Kaṁsa, he was contaminated by sinful reactions, and he also joined the conspiracy.
Being inspired by all the members of the conspiracy, Śatadhanvā one night entered the house of Satrājit and killed him while he was sleeping. Śatadhanvā was a sinful man of abominable character, and although due to his sinful activities he was not to live for many days, he decided to kill Satrājit while Satrājit was sleeping at home. When he entered the house to kill Satrājit, all the women there cried very loudly, but in spite of their great protests, Śatadhanvā mercilessly butchered Satrājit without hesitation, exactly as a butcher kills an animal in the slaughterhouse.
The dead body of Satrājit was not immediately removed for cremation because Satyabhāmā wanted to go to Kṛṣṇa in Hastināpura. Therefore the body was preserved in a tank of oil so that Kṛṣṇa could come back and see the dead body of Satrājit and take real action against Śatadhanvā. Satyabhāmā immediately started for Hastināpura to inform Kṛṣṇa about the ghastly death of her father.
When Kṛṣṇa was informed by Satyabhāmā of the murder of His father-in-law, He began to lament like an ordinary man. His great sorrow is, again, a strange thing. Lord Kṛṣṇa has nothing to do with action and reaction, but because He was playing the part of a human being, He expressed His full sympathy for the bereavement of Satyabhāmā, and His eyes filled with tears when He heard about the death of His father-in-law. He thus began to lament, "Oh, what unhappy incidents have taken place!"
He thus began to lament, "Oh, what unhappy incidents have taken place!" Then Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, along with Satyabhāmā, immediately returned to Dvārakā and began to make plans to kill Śatadhanvā and take away the jewel. Although he was a great outlaw in the city, Śatadhanvā was still very much afraid of Kṛṣṇa's power, and thus when Kṛṣṇa arrived he became most afraid.
Understanding Kṛṣṇa's plan to kill him, he immediately went to take shelter of Kṛtavarmā. But Kṛtavarmā said, "I shall never be able to offend Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, for They are not ordinary persons. They are the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Who can be saved from death if he has offended Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa? No one can be saved from Their wrath."
When Śatadhanvā was refused help by Kṛtavarmā, he went to Akrūra and implored him to help. But Akrūra also replied, "Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa are Themselves the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and anyone who knows Their unlimited strength would never dare offend Them or fight with Them." He further informed Śatadhanvā, "Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma are so powerful that simply by willing They create, maintain and dissolve the whole cosmic manifestation. Unfortunately, persons bewildered by the illusory energy cannot understand the strength of Kṛṣṇa, although the whole cosmic manifestation is fully under His control." He cited, as an example, that Kṛṣṇa, even at the age of seven years, had lifted Govardhana Hill and had continued to hold up the mountain for seven days, exactly as a child carries a small umbrella. Akrūra plainly informed Śatadhanvā that he would always offer his most respectful obeisances to Kṛṣṇa, the Supersoul of everything created and the original cause of all causes. When Akrūra also refused to give him shelter, Śatadhanvā decided to deliver the Syamantaka jewel into the hands of Akrūra. Then, riding on a horse which could run at great speed and up to four hundred miles at a stretch, he fled the city.
When Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were informed of the flight of Śatadhanvā, They mounted Their chariot, its flag marked by a picture of Garuḍa, and followed immediately. Kṛṣṇa was particularly angry with Śatadhanvā and wanted to kill him because he had killed Satrājit, a superior personality. Satrājit happened to be the father-in-law of Kṛṣṇa, and it is the injunction of the śāstras that one who is guru-druha, who has rebelled against a superior person, must be punished in proportion to the severity of the offense. Because Śatadhanvā had killed His father-in-law, Kṛṣṇa was determined to kill him by any means.
Śatadhanvā’s horse became exhausted and died near a garden house in Mithilā. Unable to take help of the horse, Śatadhanvā began to run with great speed. In order to be fair to Śatadhanvā, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma also left Their chariot and began to follow Śatadhanvā on foot. While Śatadhanvā and Kṛṣṇa were running, Kṛṣṇa took His disc and cut off Śatadhanvā’s head. After Śatadhanvā was killed, Kṛṣṇa searched through his clothing for the Syamantaka jewel, but He could not find it. He then returned to Balarāma and said, "We have killed this person uselessly, for the jewel is not to be found on his body." Śrī Balarāma suggested, “The jewel might have been kept in the custody of another man in Dvārakā, so You’d better return and search it out.” Śrī Balarāma expressed His desire to remain in Mithilā City for some days because He enjoyed an intimate friendship with the King. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa returned to Dvārakā, and Balarāma entered the city of Mithilā.
At this time Śrī Balarāma lived in the city for several years as the honored guest of the King of Mithilā, Janaka Mahārāja. During this time, Duryodhana, the eldest son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, took the opportunity to come to Balarāma and learn from Him the art of fighting with a club.
After killing Śatadhanvā, Kṛṣṇa returned to Dvārakā, and in order to please His wife Satyabhāmā, He informed her of the death of Śatadhanvā, the killer of her father. But He also informed her that the jewel had not been found in his possession. Then, according to religious principles, Kṛṣṇa, along with Satyabhāmā, performed ceremonies in honor of His departed father-in-law. In those ceremonies all the friends and relatives of the family joined together.
Akrūra and Kṛtavarmā were prominent members in the conspiracy to kill Satrājit, having incited Śatadhanvā to kill him. So when they heard of the death of Śatadhanvā at Kṛṣṇa's hand, and when they also heard that Kṛṣṇa had returned to Dvārakā, they both immediately left the city. The citizens of Dvārakā felt themselves threatened with pestilence and natural disturbances due to the absence of Akrūra from the city. This was a kind of superstition, because while Lord Kṛṣṇa was present there could not be any pestilence, famine or natural disturbances. But in the absence of Akrūra there were apparently some disturbances in Dvārakā. The superstition arose for the following reason: Once in the province of Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) there was severe drought—practically no rain fell. At that time the King of Kāśī arranged the marriage of his daughter, known as Gāndinī, with Śvaphalka, the father of Akrūra. This was done by the King of Kāśī on the advice of an astrologer, and actually it so happened that after the marriage of the King's daughter with Śvaphalka there was sufficient rainfall in the province. Due to this supernatural power of Śvaphalka, his son Akrūra was considered equally powerful, and people were under the impression that wherever Akrūra or his father stayed there would be no natural disturbances, such as famine or drought.
Akrūra was Kṛṣṇa's uncle; therefore, when he came back to Dvārakā, Lord Kṛṣṇa first of all gave him a welcome befitting a superior person. Kṛṣṇa is the Supersoul in everyone and knows everything going on in everyone's heart. He knew everything that had happened in connection with Akrūra's conspiracy with Śatadhanvā. Therefore, He smilingly began to speak to Akrūra. Addressing him as the chief among munificent men, Kṛṣṇa said, "My dear uncle, it is already known to Me that the Syamantaka jewel was left by Śatadhanvā with you. Presently there is no direct claimant of the Syamantaka jewel, for King Satrājit has no male issue. His daughter Satyabhāmā is not very eager for this jewel, yet her expected son, as the grandson of Satrājit, would, after performing the regulative principles of inheritance, be the legal claimant of the jewel." Lord Kṛṣṇa indicated by this statement that Satyabhāmā was already pregnant and that her son would be the real claimant of the jewel and would certainly take it from Akrūra.
| Page Title: | Satadhanva |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 30 of Jun, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=16, CC=0, OB=10, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 26 |