Chapter 15: Haau Leela
Illustrated by Khushboo
Yashoda had a recurring anxiety about letting Krsna go out and play far off into the jungles or on the banks of Yamuna. She wanted to accompany him at all times, watching over him as he played and frolicked around with his friends, but her household chores especially taking care of the preparations of Narayan pooja, was not something she could let anyone else be responsible for. How could she have Krsna in front of her eyes at all times? Her son was fickle, always ready to run out of the palace.
She wrapped her morning chores and ran towards Yamuna, where Krsna was playing with his friends. It was always a sigh of relief when she found him in one piece knowing about the perilous shenanigans he frequently indulged in. Worrying comes naturally to all mothers, but Krsna made her on edge continuously. She decided to do something about it, and when the games were over, she took Krsna in her lap and began recounting the story of ‘Haau.’ Haau was a scary one-eyed monster that spied on young kids and kidnapped them when their parents were not around. She said Haau could appear anytime, anywhere, so Krsna should not be away from her.
Krsna was terrified. He wanted to play with his friends but also didn’t want to be taken away by Haau. Yashoda smirked, knowing her trick was working. How enchanting is this leela of the Supreme Lord being scared? It’s about him that the Vedas declare. “It’s by his fear that the Sun shines and the wind blows. By his fear, death moves about, and the planets revolve.” Balarama, who stood by silently hearing Yashoda, was suddenly overcome with a strange frenzy. His face lit up with a glow never seen before. He started speaking to the scared Krsna in a baritone like an adult.
Have you forgotten Krsna, your incarnation as the giant fish in the waters of the final dissolution? How gigantic was that one lakh miles of your body of a golden fish? You sported a large horn on your tip, and to it was tied a huge boat upon which were seated all the rishis who were eulogizing you. This way, you sailed around in the limitless ocean for many million years waiting for Brahma to wake up and recreate the world. You chased the daemon Hayagriva who had stolen the Vedas while Brahma lay asleep and he hid himself in deep waters. You found him and killed him. Did you find ‘Haau’ anywhere as you scoured that boundless ocean?
Why don’t you remember the days when the churning of the Ocean took place? The huge Mount ‘Mandaar’ wouldn’t stay afloat, and it sank under its weight, and you taking pity on the devatas, assumed the shape of a gigantic tortoise and supported the mountain on your back. Only then could they churn the mountain. So many things appeared out of the sea, but there was no ‘Haau’ seen. Recall an incident previous to this about your incarnation as the enormous boar when you were carrying the earth on your tusks, and Hiranyaksha challenged you to a duel. Do you remember that you had placed the earth on top of the waters of dissolution and decided to play around with the daemon? For some time, you tolerated his prowess and made him feel he was winning, and in the end, you, with a mere slap, made him leave for the abode of Yama. Did you see ‘Haau’ anywhere at that time?
Also, recall how you assumed the terrible form of Narsingh to protect Prahlad when Hiranyakashapu dared him to show God in a pillar. You came out of the pillar to prove your dear devotee correct when he said to his father, “Yes, My Lord is everywhere, even in this pillar.” How dreadful was that form of yours? Body of a man, the head of a Lion, with sharp claws and large pointed teeth. Can you recall how you dragged the invincible daemon to the threshold of his palace, placed him upon your thigh, and tore open his abdomen killing him? Tell me, Krsna, did you see ‘Haau’ anywhere in that land of the daemons?
Next, I want to remind you of your leela with the great-grandson of Prahlad, Maharaj Bali, when you took on the form of a stout Brahmin. How you approached the yajna shala of that great king. The rishis and the purohits saw that resplendent form of yours and told each other that you must be one of the ‘Sanata Kumars’ or the fire deity himself. You asked for three steps of land from Bali, and how he offered his head for you to place your third step when you covered all three worlds in just two steps. How your short form grew so tall as to reach the firmament? How Brahma washed your feet with water from his ‘Kamandal’ and poured down the rest of the waters, which came down as the ‘Ganga’, which now purifies the three worlds. Did you see ‘Haau’ anywhere when you did all that?
‘You were born as ‘Parashurama’ and made the earth devoid of all ‘Kshatriyas’ twenty-one times. Do you recall you were the son of Jamdagni, and the king ‘Sahasrarjun’ had stolen your father’s prized cow? How you killed that powerful king of brought back the cow? How the sons of Sahasrarjun beheaded your father in revenge, and how were you filled with insurmountable wrath and set out to kill every Kshatriya on earth? You roamed the entire earth and killed them all. Three ponds of blood were formed in Kurukshetra, and a mountain of severed heads of ten thousand sons of your father’s murderer was created by you. How you revived Dharma by killing all Kshatriyas who had lost sight of Dharma and had become looters and killers instead of protectors? Was ‘Haau’ found anywhere in that long trail of bloody battles you fought?
Let me remind you of your most enchanting form of the son of Dashratha. You took birth as Rama, the upholder of Dharma, and you traveled from Ayodhya to Lanka to rid the earth of the daemons. Did you see ‘Haau’ anywhere as you went from place to place, covering a large part of the earth?
Thus in a frenzy, Balarama spoke without a break. Yashoda, silently listening to it all, surmised that Balaram must be regaling all the plays he had seen about the puranic lores. She was surprised and laughed and said, “Balaram, you have grown so big, and you can talk so well now? Where did you learn how to speak this way? Balarama’s frenzy disappeared, and he became quiet and started behaving like a normal child again. Krsna began smiling, and they head off for home.
Originally published at https://nitin-srivastava.net on August 12, 2023.
