I recently had the pleasure of participating in a community art show in Longmont, and given the opportunity to make something that wasn’t for a liturgical season, I chose to illustrate a favorite story from the Bhagavata Purana, one of the large body of Hindu scriptures. I have always admired the beautiful patterns and colors of snakes, and the graceful way they move, but had never gotten around to putting them in a piece of art. For those of you who are not familiar with Kaliyah and the Nagapatnis, here is the story:
Once upon a time there was a peaceful village of cow-herders and farmers, pleasantly situated near the forest, and close to the banks of a river. At the time of this story, God was living among the villagers as a little boy, the darling of the village, and the center of the group of cow-herd boys, who knew him by the name Krishna. One day a fierce and poisonous many-headed serpent moved into the lake near the village. His poison was so great that before long the entire lake was polluted with it, and the grasses and trees that grew on the banks drew it up through their roots and withered away. When the boys brought their calves to the banks to drink, both the cows and the boys were also poisoned and fell to the ground. When the youngster Krishna came upon the scene, and found his friends and their beloved calves lifeless on the ground, he was mightily perturbed, and leapt into the water with an enormous splash. As planned, this disturbance brought the giant snake, whose name was Kaliyah, surging ’round to see who was invading his domain. Knowing full well that he could easily defeat even such a powerful opponent, Krishna wrestled and sparred with him, sometimes allowing himself to get caught up in the giant coils and lifted above the water. When he realized that by now his parents had rushed to the scene, and were in terror for his life (thinking of him not as God, but as their beloved child,) he sprang loose from the clutches of the serpent and began to dance on its many heads. He leapt from one head to another, as one by one they rose out of the water to try in vain to capture him, and this show of grace and agility was a sight to behold. His dancing was so beautiful that heavenly beings gathered in the sky to play accompaniment on their instruments. With each step, Kaliyah was beaten down a little bit more, the poison spewing out of his mouths until there was nothing left, at which point it began to occur to him; ‘Hey! This is no ordinary 6-year-old child! What’s going on here?’
Now, Kaliyah had many wives, known as the Nagapatnis, and they were actually great devotees of the Lord. In vain had they tried to preach to their wayward husband, who was far too poisonous and full of his own power to listen to such nonsense. When the Nagapatnis realized that Kaliyah was getting the stuffing beat out of him by Krishna, they came rushing to the scene, not to gloat in Kaliyah’s downfall, but to plead for his life. They uttered many beautiful prayers to the Lord, and advanced the very clever argument that Kaliyah should be spared because obviously he had committed many pious acts in previous lifetimes to have the honor of the lotus feet of the Lord touching his heads. The Lord, being very merciful, listened to their prayers, and spared the life of Kaliyah, who began to regain conciousness. Drained of poison, sapped of all his strength, no longer able to maintain the illusion of control, the great serpent also surrendered to the Lord, and gave him many precious gifts of gold and jewels. The Lord gave them his benediction, and sent them off to a new home in the ocean. Kaliyah and his wives and their children circumambulated him, swimming around him in a dance of devotion, and then took their leave. And as the poison had left Kaliyah, the plants, trees, birds, animals, and villagers who had been struck by it sprang back to life as Krishna stepped onto the shore.
Isn’t that a wonderful story? Not only is it a great adventure tale, but I think it has some important lessons in it if we are listening.
1.When we are selfish and poisonous and sinful, it affects not only our selves, but everyone and everything around us. Not only does it harm those we come in contact with, but the effects spread easily, and even the earth is harmed by our actions.
2. The more confident we are of our own power and control, the more difficult it is to surrender to God. We may have to undergo many difficulties to bring us to the point of surrender. It is when we feel like we’ve been trammelled by life that we are most inclined to relinquish control to the Lord.
3. Our preaching, by either word or example, is never wasted. Even the person who seems the least inclined to listen may remember later what we told them. The Nagapatnis could easily have just given up on Kaliyah; he’s such a monster, it’s just no use.
4. The prayers of those who love someone can be very powerful.
5. When we allow ourselves to get back in line with God, give up our poisonous thoughts and selfish actions, healing can spread just as the harm did. Our relationships and communities can be healed, and even the earth can be healed.