KRISHNA’s PASTIMES OUTSIDE VRINDAVANA!
From Srimad Bhagavatam (Canto-3, Ch-3)
Srimad Bhagavatam Canto-3, Chapter-3 lists most of the pastimes performed by the Lord outside Vrindavana as if spoken by Sri Uddhava to Vidura:
KILLING OF KAMSA:
Lord Kṛṣṇa went to Mathurā City with Śrī Baladeva, and to please Their parents They dragged Kaṁsa, the leader of public enemies, down from his throne and killed him, pulling him along the ground with great strength.
LEARNING VEDAS:
The Lord learned all the Vedas with their different branches simply by hearing them once from His teacher, Sāndīpani Muni, whom He rewarded by bringing back his dead son from the region of Yamaloka.
(Maharaja Parikshit is Cursed! READ HERE!)
CARRYING AWAY RUKMINI:
Attracted by the beauty and fortune of Rukmiṇī, the daughter of King Bhīṣmaka, many great princes and kings assembled to marry her. But Lord Kṛṣṇa, stepping over the other hopeful candidates, carried her away as His own share, as Garuḍa carried away nectar.
ACHIEVING THE HAND OF NAGNIJITI:
By subduing seven bulls whose noses were not pierced, the Lord achieved the hand of Princess Nāgnijitī in the open competition to select her bridegroom. Although the Lord was victorious, His competitors asked the hand of the princess, and thus there was a fight. Well equipped with weapons, the Lord killed or wounded all of them, but He Himself was not hurt.
BRINGING PARIJATA TREE FROM HEAVEN:
Just to please His dear wife, the Lord brought back the pārijāta tree from heaven, just as an ordinary husband would do. But Indra, the King of heaven, induced by his wives (henpecked as he was), ran after the Lord with full force to fight Him.
KILLING NARAKASURA:
Narakāsura, the son of Dharitrī, the earth, tried to grasp the whole sky, and for this he was killed by the Lord in a fight. His mother then prayed to the Lord. This led to the return of the kingdom to the son of Narakāsura, and thus the Lord entered the house of the demon.
MARRYING PRINCESSES KIDNAPPED BY NARAKASURA:
There in the house of the demon, all the princesses kidnapped by Narakāsura at once became alert upon seeing the Lord, the friend of the distressed. They looked upon Him with eagerness, joy and shyness and offered to be His wives.
BEING WITH ALL PRINCES SIMULTANEOUSLY:
All those princesses were lodged in different apartments, and the Lord simultaneously assumed different bodily expansions exactly matching each and every princess. He accepted their hands in perfect rituals by His internal potency.
GETTING TEN CHILDREN WITH EVERY PRINCESS:
Just to expand Himself according to His transcendental features, the Lord begot in each and every one of them ten offspring with exactly His own qualities.
(Brahma meets Krishna in Vaikunta before starting Creations! READ HERE!)
ALLOWING HIS SOLDIERS TO KILL KALAYAVANA:
Kālayavana, the King of Magadha and Sālva attacked the city of Mathurā, but when the city was encircled by their soldiers, the Lord refrained from killing them personally, just to show the power of His own men.
KILLING DEMONS:
Of kings like Śambara, Dvivida, Bāṇa, Mura, Balvala and many other demons, such as Dantavakra, some He killed Himself, and some He caused to be killed by others [Śrī Baladeva, etc.].
TAKING ROLE IN KURUKSHETRA BATTLE:
Then, O Vidura, the Lord caused all the kings, both the enemies and those on the side of your fighting nephews, to be killed in the Battle of Kurukṣetra. All those kings were so great and strong that the earth seemed to shake as they traversed the warfield.
FEELING UNHAPPY TO SEE DYING DURYODHANA:
Duryodhana was bereft of his fortune and duration of life because of the intricacy of ill advice given by Karṇa, Duḥśāsana and Saubala. When he lay on the ground with his followers, his thighs broken although he was powerful, the Lord was not happy to see the scene.
ESTABLISHING YUTHISHTHIRA AS KING:
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, thus thinking to Himself, established Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira in the position of supreme control of the world in order to show the ideal of administration on the path of piety.
PROTECTING ABIMANYU:
The embryo of Pūru’s descendant begotten by the great hero Abhimanyu in the womb of Uttarā, his wife, was burnt by the weapon of the son of Droṇa, but later he was again protected by the Lord.
INDUCING YUTHISHTHIRA TO PERFORM SACRIFICES:
The Supreme Lord induced the son of Dharma to perform three horse sacrifices, and Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, constantly following Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, protected and enjoyed the earth, assisted by his younger brothers.
RULING DVARAKA:
Simultaneously, the Personality of Godhead enjoyed life in the city of Dvārakā, strictly in conformity with the Vedic customs of society. He was situated in detachment and knowledge, as enunciated by the Sāṅkhya system of philosophy.
He was there in His transcendental body, the residence of the goddess of fortune, with His usual gentle and sweetly smiling face, His nectarean words and His flawless character.
(Creations of Features of the Personal Form of Supreme Person! READ HERE!)