Inauspicious Omens (Signs) When Krishna Left This Planet!
(From Srimad Bhagavatam Ca-1, Ch-14)
So many inauspicious signs appeared everywhere on earth when Krishna left this planet ending His lilas on earth.
In this Part, let us read all those signs that touches our heart:
Arjuna went to Dvārakā to see Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and other friends and also to learn from the Lord of His next activities. A few months passed, and Arjuna did not return.
(Dhrtarastra Quits Palace! READ HERE!)
Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira then began to observe some inauspicious omens, which were fearful in themselves. They are:
(i) He saw that the direction of eternal time had changed, and this was very fearful.
(ii) There were disruptions in the seasonal regularities.
(iii) The people in general had become very greedy, angry and deceitful. And he saw that they were adopting foul means of livelihood.
(iv) All ordinary transactions and dealings became polluted with cheating, even between friends.
(v) And in familial affairs, there was always misunderstanding between fathers, mothers and sons, between well-wishers, and between brothers. Even between husband and wife there was always strain and quarrel.
(vi) In course of time it came to pass that people in general became accustomed to greed, anger, pride, etc.
(vii) Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira said to his younger brother Bhīmasena:
“I sent Arjuna to Dvārakā to meet his friends and to learn from the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, of His program of work. Since he departed, seven months have passed, yet he has not returned. I do not know factually how things are going there.
(DVARAKA WELCOMES KRISHNA! READ HERE!)
Is Krishna going to quit His earthly pastimes, as Devarṣi Nārada indicated? Has that time already arrived? From Him only, all our kingly opulence, good wives, lives, progeny, control over our subjects, victory over our enemies, and future accommodations in higher planets have become possible. All this is due to His causeless mercy upon us.
(viii) The left side of my body — my thighs, arms and eyes — are all quivering again and again. I am having heart palpitations due to fear. All this indicates undesirable happenings.
(ix) Just see, O Bhīma, how the she-jackal cries at the rising sun and vomits fire, and how the dog barks at me fearlessly.
(x) O Bhīmasena, tiger amongst men, now useful animals like cows are passing me on my left side, and lower animals like the asses are circumambulating me. My horses appear to weep upon seeing me.
(xi) Just see! This pigeon is like a messenger of death. The shrieks of the owls and their rival crows make my heart tremble. It appears that they want to make a void of the whole universe.
(xii) Just see how the smoke encircles the sky. It appears that the earth and mountains are throbbing. Just hear the cloudless thunder and see the bolts from the blue.
(xiii) The wind blows violently, blasting dust everywhere and creating darkness. Clouds are raining everywhere with bloody disasters.
(xiv) The rays of the sun are declining, and the stars appear to be fighting amongst themselves. Confused living entities appear to be ablaze and weeping.
(xv) Rivers, tributaries, ponds, reservoirs and the mind are all perturbed. Butter no longer ignites fire. What is this extraordinary time? What is going to happen?
(xvi) The calves do not suck the teats of the cows, nor do the cows give milk. They are standing, crying, tears in their eyes, and the bulls take no pleasure in the pasturing grounds.
(KRISHNA’S RETURN TO DVARAKA! READ HERE!)
(xvii) The Deities seem to be crying in the temple, lamenting and perspiring. They seem about to leave. All the cities, villages, towns, gardens, mines and hermitages are now devoid of beauty and bereft of all happiness. I do not know what sort of calamities are now awaiting us.
Yudhisthira continued:
(xvii) I think that all these earthly disturbances indicate some greater loss to the good fortune of the world. The world was fortunate to have been marked with the footprints of the lotus feet of the Lord. These signs indicate that this will no longer be.
Mean time, Arjuna came back from the city of the Yadus [Dvārakā].
When he bowed at his feet, the King saw that his dejection was unprecedented. His head was down, and tears glided from his lotus eyes.
Seeing Arjuna pale due to heartfelt anxieties, the King, remembering the indications of the sage Nārada, questioned him in the midst of friends about the welfare of all the important kiths and kins and also Lord Krishna.
(Birth & Glories of King Parikshit! READ HERE!)