After hearing Rukmini’s statement, Lord Krishna was very much pleased. He immediately shook hands with the brähmaëa and said, “My dear brähmaëa, I am very glad to hear that Rukmini is anxious to marry Me, since I am also anxious to get her hand. My mind is always absorbed in thoughts of the daughter of Bhéñmaka, and sometimes I cannot sleep at night because I am thinking of her. I can understand that the marriage of Rukmiëé with Çiçupäla has been arranged by her elder brother in a spirit of animosity toward Me; so I am determined to give a good lesson to all of these princes. Just as one extracts and uses fire after manipulating ordinary wood, after dealing with these demoniac princes I shall bring forth Rukmiëé, like fire, from their midst.”

Krishna, upon being informed of the specific date of Rukmiëé’s marriage, was anxious to leave immediately. He asked His driver, Däruka, to harness the horses for His chariot and prepare to go to the kingdom of Vidarbha. After hearing this order, the driver brought Krishna’s four special horses. The names and descriptions of these horses are mentioned in the Padma Puräëa. The first one, Çaibya, was greenish; the second, Sugréva, was grayish like ice; the third, Meghapuñpa, was the color of a new cloud; and the last, Balähaka, was of ashen color. When the horses were yoked and the chariot was ready to go, Krishna helped the brähmaëa up and gave him a seat by His side. Immediately they started from Dvärakä and within one night arrived at the province of Vidarbha. The kingdom of Dvärakä is situated in the western part of India, and Vidarbha is situated in the northern part. They are separated by a distance of not less than one thousand miles, but the horses were so fast that they reached their destination, a town called Kuëòina, within one night or, at most, twelve hours.

When Mucukunda, the celebrated descendant of the Ikñväku dynasty, was favored by Lord Krishna, he circumambulated the Lord within the cave and then came out. On coming out of the cave, Mucukunda saw that the human species had surprisingly been reduced in stature to pygmy size. Similarly, the trees had also been far reduced in size, and Mucukunda could immediately understand that the current age was Kali-yuga. Therefore, without diverting his attention, he began to travel north. Eventually he reached the mountain known as Gandhamädana, where there were many trees, such as sandalwood and other flowering trees, whose fragrance made anyone who reached them joyful. He decided to remain in that Gandhamädana Mountain region to execute austerities and penances for the rest of his life. It appears that this place is situated in the northernmost part of the Himalayan Mountains, where the abode of Nara-Näräyaëa is situated. This place is still existing and is called Badarikäçrama. In Badarikäçrama he engaged himself in the worship of Lord Krishna, tolerating all kinds of pains and pleasures and the other dualities of this material world. Lord Krishna returned to the vicinity of Mathurä, where He fought with the soldiers of Kälayavana and killed them one after another. After this, He collected all the booty from the dead bodies, and under His direction it was loaded on bullock carts and brought back to Dvärakä.

Meanwhile, Jaräsandha again attacked Mathurä, this time with bigger divisions of soldiers, numbering twenty-three akñauhiëés.

When Krishna came out of the city, Kälayavana, who had never seen Krishna before, saw Him to be extraordinarily beautiful, dressed in yellow garments. Passing through Kälayavana’s assembly of soldiers, Krishna appeared like the moon in the sky passing through the assembled clouds. Kälayavana was fortunate enough to see the lines of Çrévatsa, a particular impression on the chest of Çré Krishna, and the Kaustubha jewel He was wearing. Kälayavana saw Him, however, in His Vishnu form, with a well-built body, four hands, and eyes like the petals of a newly blooming lotus. Krishna appeared blissful, with a handsome forehead and beautiful smiling face, restless eyebrows and moving earrings. Before seeing Krishna, Kälayavana had heard about Him from Närada, and now the descriptions of Närada were confirmed. Kälayavana noticed Krishna’s specific marks and the jewels on His chest, His beautiful garland of lotus flowers, His lotuslike eyes and similar beautiful bodily features. He concluded that this beautiful personality must be Väsudeva, for every description he had previously heard from Närada was substantiated by the presence of Krishna. Kälayavana was astonished to see Krishna passing through his army without any weapon in His hands and without any chariot. He was simply walking on foot. Kälayavana had come to fight with Krishna, and yet he had sufficient principles not to take up any kind of weapon. He decided to fight with Him hand to hand. Thus he prepared to capture Krishna and fight.

Krishna, however, went ahead without looking at Kälayavana. Kälayavana followed Him with a desire to capture Him, but in spite of his swift running, he could not capture Krishna. Krishna cannot be captured even by great yogés traveling at the speed of the mind. He can be captured only by those who follow the path of devotional service, and Kälayavana was not practiced in devotional service. He wanted to capture Krishna, and since he could not do so he followed Him from behind.

Upon Kansa’s death, his two wives became widows. According to Vedic civilization, a woman is never independent. She has three stages of life: in childhood a woman should live under the protection of her father, a youthful woman should live under the protection of her young husband, and in the event of the death of her husband she should live under the protection of her grown-up sons, or if she has no grown-up sons she must go back to her father and live as a widow under his protection. It appears that Kansa had no grown-up sons. Therefore, after his wives became widows they returned to the shelter of their father. Kansa had two queens, Asti and Präpti, and both happened to be the daughters of King Jaräsandha, the lord of the Bihar province (known in those days as Magadha). After reaching home, the two queens explained their awkward position following Kansa’s death. The King of Magadha, Jaräsandha, was mortified on hearing of the pitiable condition of his daughters. When informed of the death of Kansa, Jaräsandha decided on the spot that he would rid the world of all the members of the Yadu dynasty. He decided that since Krishna had killed Kansa, the whole dynasty of the Yadus should be killed.

He began to make extensive arrangements to attack the kingdom of Mathurä with his innumerable military phalanxes, consisting of many thousands of chariots, horses, elephants and infantry soldiers. Jaräsandha prepared thirteen such military phalanxes to retaliate the death of Kansa. Taking with him all his military strength, he attacked the capital of the Yadu kings, Mathurä, surrounding it from all directions. Çré Krishna, who appeared like an ordinary human being, saw the immense strength of Jaräsandha, which appeared like an ocean about to cover a beach at any moment. He also perceived that the inhabitants of Mathurä were overwhelmed with fear. He began to think within Himself about His mission as an incarnation and how to tackle the present situation before Him. He thought that since He was not going to conquer the kingdom of Magadha, to kill the King of Magadha, namely Jaräsandha, was useless. His mission was to diminish the overburdening population of the whole world; therefore He took the opportunity to face so many men, chariots, elephants and horses. The military strength of Jaräsandha had appeared before Him, and He decided to kill the entire force of Jaräsandha so that he would go back and reorganize his military strength.