Srimad Bhagavatam: Pearl 7

KILLING BHAUMASUR	16000 QUEENS
SHIVA AND VISHNU JVARAS

Chapter 58, verse 36: Lord Krishna can solely be appeased by His Own Grace and never by following any other course.

How to propitiate Lord Narayana by invoking Goddess Laxmiji or please Lord Krishna with an appeal to Rukmaniji has been discussed earlier. In a similar fashion, Satyaji, one of Lord Krishna’s queens, illustrates these divine traits. But soon enough in the very next 37^th verse corrects herself that Lord Krishna can be pacified only by His Grace and not by adopting any other route. The ultimate surrender of a devotee in this manner is expressed by Arjuna in Chapter 18 of the celebrated epic ‘Shrimad Bhagwat Gita’.

Chapter 58, verse 20: The holy river of Yamunaji was already an important quotient of the divine Gopi spectrum at Vrindavan during the Raaslila( Krishna’s dalliance and dance with the herd girls of Braj )and many such spectacles. In spite of this fact, during the course of Dwarkalila She pleads for Her status as the Maharani of King Krishna and the Lord happily giving His consent, marries Her.

Chapter 59, verse 1: A simple question asked by King Parikshit as to how Bhaumasura was killed by the Supreme Lord triggers off the entire story being narrated by Mahatma Shukdevji. The chapter deals with the miraculous feat of killing demon Bhaumasura who kidnapped so many women and details the Lord’s marriage with 16000 queens.

Chapter 61, verse 53: – Lord Krishna questions Rukmaniji, divine incarnate; on what is the point of being born in the topmost yoni of humans because even amongst the lowest species one can enjoy sensual pleasure? He affirms that its purpose is fulfilled only when a mortal worships Him, the Supreme Lord and humbly bows before Him. This is the utmost achievement of a devotee as attained by the Gopis and confirmed by none other than the Lord himself.

Chapter 63, verse 29: – Let us always remember the divine dialogue between Lord Krishna and Siva-jwara or constant fever because all embodied souls must suffer as long as they are bound to materialistic ambitions and averse to serving the Lord. Similarly, in verse 53, Mahatma Shukdevji confirms that whosoever rises early in the morning and religiously remembers Lord Krishna’s victory in His battle with Maheswara-jwara shall never suffer any illness, “and may whoever remembers our conversation here have no reason to fear you.”