Dhenuka was a dangerous demon,
known as a Raksasa, who resembled a donkey. He lived in the Tala forest, and
people were too scared to go near that place because of him.
When Krishna and his elder
brother Balarama (also called Balabhadra) heard about this demon, they went to
the forest. There were many palm trees there, and they shook the trees to get
the fruit. The noise caught Dhenuka’s attention, and he rushed toward them. But
Krishna and Balarama fought him and killed him.
Other
Information:
- According to the Bhagavata
Purana (Book 10), Dhenuka was one of the followers of the evil king
Kamsa. Other followers included Pralamba, Canura, Trnavarta, Mustika,
Arista, and Kesi.
- In another story from the
same book, a demon came into the herd of cows, disguised as a cow (called Dhenu).
Krishna and Balarama saw through the disguise, caught him, and killed him
by throwing him into a tree.
Source:
śrīdāmā nāma gopālo rāma-keśavayoḥ sakhā
subala-stokakṛṣṇādyā gopāḥ premṇedam abruvan
Once, some of the cowherd
boys-Śrīdāmā, the very close friend of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, along with Subala,
Stokakṛṣṇa, and others-lovingly spoke the following words.
rāma rāma mahā-bāho kṛṣṇa duṣṭa-nibarhaṇa
ito ’vidūre su-mahad vanaṁ tālāli-saṅkulam
The cowherd boys said:] O
Rāma, Rāma, mighty-armed one! O Kṛṣṇa, destroyer of the miscreants! Not far
from here is a very great forest filled with rows of palm trees.
phalāni tatra bhūrīṇi patanti patitāni ca
santi kintv avaruddhāni dhenukena durātmanā
In that Tālavana forest,
many fruits are falling from the trees, and many are already lying on the
ground. But all the fruits are being guarded by the evil Dhenuka.
prayaccha tāni naḥ kṛṣṇa gandha-lobhita-cetasām
vāñchāsti mahatī rāma gamyatāṁ yadi rocate
O Kṛṣṇa! Please get those
fruits for us. Our minds are so attracted by their aroma! Dear Balarāma, our
desire to have those fruits is very great. If you think it’s a good idea, let’s
go to that Tāla forest.
balaḥ praviśya bāhubhyāṁ tālān samparikampayan
phalāni pātayām āsa mataṅ-gaja ivaujasā
Lord Balarāma entered the
Tāla forest first. Then, with His two arms, He began forcefully shaking the
trees with the power of a maddened elephant, causing the tāla fruits to fall to
the ground.
phalānāṁ patatāṁ śabdaṁ niśamyāsura-rāsabhaḥ
abhyadhāvat kṣiti-talaṁ sa-nagaṁ parikampayan
Hearing the sound of the
falling fruits, the ass demon Dhenuka ran forward to attack, making the earth
and trees tremble.
sametya tarasā pratyag dvābhyāṁ padbhyāṁ balaṁ balī
nihatyorasi kā-śabdaṁ muñcan paryasarat khalaḥ
The powerful demon rushed
up to Lord Baladeva and sharply struck the Lord’s chest with the hooves of his
hind legs. Then Dhenuka began to run about, braying loudly.
punar āsādya saṁrabdha upakroṣṭā parāk sthitaḥ
caraṇāv aparau rājan balāya prākṣipad ruṣā
Moving again toward Lord
Balarāma, O King, the furious ass situated himself with his back toward the
Lord. Then, screaming in rage, the demon hurled his two hind legs at Him.
sa taṁ gṛhītvā prapador bhrāmayitvaika-pāṇinā
cikṣepa tṛṇa-rājāgre bhrāmaṇa-tyakta-jīvitam
Lord Balarāma seized
Dhenuka by his hooves, whirled him about with one hand, and threw him into the
top of a palm tree. The violent wheeling motion killed the demon.
tenāhato mahā-tālo vepamāno bṛhac-chirāḥ
pārśva-sthaṁ kampayan bhagnaḥ sa cānyaṁ so ’pi cāparam
Lord Balarāma threw the
dead body of Dhenukāsura into the tallest palm tree in the forest, and when the
dead demon landed in the treetop, the tree began shaking. The great palm tree,
causing a tree by its side also to shake, broke under the weight of the demon.
The neighboring tree caused yet another tree to shake, and this one struck yet
another tree, which also began shaking. In this way, many trees in the forest
shook and broke.
balasya līlayotsṛṣṭa-khara-deha-hatāhatāḥ
tālāś cakampire sarve mahā-vāteritā iva
Because of Lord
Balarāma’s pastime of throwing the body of the ass demon into the top of the
tallest palm tree, all the trees began shaking and striking against one another
as if blown about by powerful winds.
(Bhagavata Puranam, 10th Skandha, 15th
Chapter, Verses 20 to 35)
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