(Vintage painting of Kaliya-Krishna)
"When you hear about Kṛṣṇa, that is also Kṛṣṇa. Actually, when you are reading Kṛṣṇa book, Kṛṣṇa is fighting with demons, that is also His pastime. So Kṛṣṇa is present. So you should be very attentive and worship this hearing. Unless we come to this point, there is lack of realization what is Kṛṣṇa.
Anudinam ādareṇa śṛṇvan iti śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ dhyānaṁ harer adbhuta-karmaṇaḥ. Here also, explicitly mentioned, harer adbhuta-karmaṇaḥ. Kṛṣṇa's activities are all wonderful. As you read from the Kṛṣṇa book, He is fighting with many demons, and His activities are wonderful. Just like Kāliya-damana. A boy of five years old or six years old jumping in the Yamunā, and the great snake immediately coils Him, as if it will devour Kṛṣṇa. And from the shore, all the members of Vṛndāvana, they become fainted: 'Now Kṛṣṇa is gone.' But He was fighting with him and kicking on the head, and blood was oozing out from the mouth of the serpent.
So these things are wonderful things—Bakāsura, Aghāsura, Śiśupāla, Kaṁsa. Kṛṣṇa was boy of sixteen years old when He was combating a very powerful wrestler, Cāṇūra. Everything... Everyone present, they thought it unlawful, that 'Kṛṣṇa is so young, and such a big stalwart and strong wrestler is engaged with Him for wrestling. This is not good. This is not good.' In protest, so many people left the arena. And Nanda Mahārāja began to think, 'I should have locked up Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana instead of allowing Him to come here. Oh, so much injustice.' But Kṛṣṇa killed them. Not only killed them, the wrestlers who were engaged by Kaṁsa; He immediately dragged Kaṁsa from his throne and simply by fisting He killed him.
There are so many wonderful. Therefore Kṛṣṇa's activities are called adbhuta-karmaṇaḥ. It is never expected to be done by any human being. How it can be done by a human being? He's all-powerful. He can do anything and everything. And because the persons with poor fund of knowledge, they cannot understand Kṛṣṇa, therefore these Kṛṣṇa's activities are to them as allegories or mythology. Because they are rascals, they think it is mythology. It is not mythology. It is actual fact, but they are wonderful, because it is being enacted by Kṛṣṇa."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Gorakhpur, February 16, 1971)
.
.
