This space is reserved for featured ads

First written on March 31, 2007  Revised and Updated on June 16, 2007 Srimad Bhagavatham - Chapter 5 - Putana Killed Kamsa was an evil man and had friendships with all sorts of evil spirits, men and women. There was an evil woman named Putana, who was a witch and could fly using uprooted trees. She was a cannibal, relishing human blood, especially small babies. She had the powers to change her appearance at will and as desired, to lure and attract her prey. She was sent out to kill and eat all babies born in the last 10 days all over the kingdom. She entered the Gokul village like a beautiful damsel and dressed nicely. She was so attractive that no one bothered to enquire about her or stop her. The innocent cowherd men and women thought that she was one of the noble souls around who had come to see the new born baby. She freely entered the house of Nand and saw the Lord Krishna, lying there as a small baby and sleeping. She took the baby in her lap. She had poisoned her nipples of her breasts and tried to suckle the baby. This was the method she had followed to kill all the babies. In the olden days, women suckling the babies of others was not frowned upon and was considered an act of high affection and honor. She did not know that she was holding death personified in the form of a baby. Lord Krishna sucked not only her milk, he also sucked her life out. She struggled and tried to shake away the baby crying "Oh child leave me, leave me" and regained her ugly appearance and tried to take off from the place. No one can escape from the Lord's punishment. She fell down dead like a tree. The people of the village were terrified by her real appearance and picked baby Krishna playing on her dead body. Mother Yashoda, being a simple soul, picked up the baby and started praying to all gods for the welfare of the baby. She did not know that her baby was the supreme lord himself who needed no protection. She performed all sorts of prayers for the protection of the baby. In the mean time Nand and his retinue had returned to the village and saw the gigantic body of Putana. Nand immediately recalled the prophecy of Vasudeva that there might be troubles in the village. As per custom, the villagers cut the body into various pieces and burnt them. When the dead carcass was burning, they found that the smoke coming out had a good aroma, instead of the normal abnormal smell of burning flesh. This was because Putana was washed of her all her sins being killed by the supreme Lord himself. She obtained Salvation or "Moksha" as per Vedic beliefs. According to Vedic rules, killing of a women, Brahmins, Cows, Children is forbidden all the times. The first demon to be killed was a woman. As also according to Vedic beliefs, there are seven kind of mothers. The real mother, wife of a teacher, wife of a Brahmin or teacher, cow, the nurse and mother earth. Putana gave her milk to the lord. She had played her role as a nurse. The lord killed her for her evil intentions. He also rewarded her for giving him her milk. From that angle she had played a mother's role. He rewarded her for that by granting her permanent liberation. Any service to the lord, however small it might be, never goes unrewarded. End of Chapter 5 Written by Madhavan T Gopalachary The views, opinions and interpretations are personal. Sponsorship does not mean that the sponsors endorse them. Editorial Policy © Copyright, Jun-07 . www.madgopes.com . Without prejudice. All rights reserved www.mmgindia.com is the official website of Madras Management Group, Chennai, India. www.madgopes.com and www.mmg.name are personal websites and all editorials are published under their banner to retain editorial independence. We would highly appreciate feedback from readers and it may be sent to feedback@mmg.name