Venue: Los Angeles

So, we welcome you one more time on my behalf also, on the occasion of the concluding session of Srimad Bhagvat Katha Mohotsava here at Los Angeles temple at the lotus feet of the Lordships Shri Shri Rukmini Dwarkadish and in presence of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupad ki jai!

So, we will continue from where we had left off yesterday. So Gopis did try their best to stop the Lord from going to Mathura. However, Lord had his duty to perform
“vinasayaca duskrtam dharmasansthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge” (4.8)

Now, he had taken care of quite a few of the dushtas, asuras, the demoniac personalities. However, the leader of them was still hanging around, he was around. Right there in his capital and he was the one, who had invited, He had his whole idea of just do cover up, make sound like festival, big festival in Mathura. Please come! We will have a fire sacrifice also and lot’s of prasadam distribution, you bring (laugh). You bring the milk products, you distribute, you share. Lots of fun, big town! Please come! See Mathura town!

And he had sent chariot for Krishna and Balarama, so as he had his plan, “Man proposes and God…” So God had His plan, and everything was working out as per His plan. So they were seated in the chariot, Krishna and Balarama and Akrur was “rathena vayu-vegena,” the ratha, the chariot of this Krishna and Balarama was moving speedily, what was the speed? “vayu-vegena” like a wind, very fast. The bullock carts loaded with the milk products, these carts being drawn by the bullocks and even some products were loaded on the back of elephants. They were kind of left way behind, are they catching up? (Recording of Akrur taking Krishna Balaram to Mathura is being played, so there is sound of chariot in the background). Walking and the journey has started, they started together but the horses go speedily, right. The oxens and the bulls, steady but slow but steady.

They are going slowly, steadily, still there (laughter). So the chariot, soon they go by two different paths, carts of Nanda Maharaj‘s carts and other carts with some so many milk products. Cow herd boys also anticipating yes, we are going to Mathura and fun. I remember also, me going to big town, when I was 13 years old. I was going to visit the closest town, which was 10 kilometers away. I visited, I was only able to visit when I was 13 years and that to I had walked there (laughs). I walked (laughs) for some Ganesh festival. The chariot, but for Ganesh, we went. So we were very excited (laughs) to go to the town. So we could imagine this children, Krishna and Balarama, their excitement, little more, much more, they are much more excited. So carts are going, by standard path but Akrur doesn’t bring his chariot, where in Krishna and Balarama are seated by the same path. He takes some interior path through the forest, because he is worried, may be someone will try to stop. I am on the mission, I had to bring Krishna and Balarama to Mathura, may be, this cowherd men they will change their mind, may be, by then they will have found out the evil plan of this Kamsa, and they would not let Krishna and Balarama go. So just kind of taking hidingly, he is making his progress, his chariot progress towards Mathura. So,

“rathena vayu-vegena kalindim agha-manashinim” (10.39.38)

Finally, travelling almost all day long, the chariot arrives on the bank of Kalindi, which is described as “agha-nashinim,” destroyer, destroyer of all the sins.
“kalindim agha-nashinim”
“kalindya hradam agatya snanam vidhi-vad acharat” (10.39.40)
So Akrur, parked the chariot on the road side, this is that Akrur Ghat now, ok, this is Akrur Ghat. He is entering the water of Jamuna and he is taking holy dip because he has been travelling, perspiring, hot sun all day. So vidhi-vat, following all the process of chanting mantras, he is taking holy dips, chanting mantras.

“nimajjya tasmin salile japan brahma sanatanam” (10.39.41)
He is now part of that vidhi, part of that process, he is Brahman, he is chanting Gayatri, he is into the water upto here, and he is chanting Gayatri, murmuring his Gayatri. And while he was doing that, suddenly he was meditating, he saw in the front of him, in the waters of Jamuna. Some amazing scene, is that Krishna transformed into four handed Personality of Godhead, holding all the padma, sankha, gada, chakra symbols. And Balarama transformed into Sahastravadan Anant-sesa providing a bed for that Vishnu, that Vasudeva to lie upon.

“siddha-charana-gandharvair surair” (10.39.44-45)
So Siddhas, Chranas, Gandharvas, other Devatas are there, chanting prayers.
“Yam brahma varunendra Rudra marutas sunvanti divyai stavai”
“sunvanti divyai stavai”
They are glorifying that four handed Personality, now resting on this bed of Anant-sesa. And this whole description of that beautiful form of the Lord and his pitambar and Lotus eyes and charukarnam and on and on. Well, that was fine to have this darshan like this, but he also was scared. So what did I, all day I was careful not to loose Krishna and Balarama, that’s why I took this path, inside path, the forest path but Krishna has transformed Himself into Vishnu and Balarama has become Anant-sesa.

Oh! I lost him, I lost them. Did I? Or didn’t, I didn’t, so he was wondering, what does this really mean? So he quickly goes to where the chariot was parked and he was relieved to find. Oh! Thank God (laughter). Gods are sitting. They were there in the chariot, now he could see Narada Muni is there, offering prayers, Shiva, Brahma, everybody is offering prayers. And that’s Akrur, ok, things are very clear and then the chariot at the back, he did not know. So he offers prayers, there are lots of prayers that Akrur has offered to the Lord, full chapter.

“Yani yaniha rupani kridanartham bibharshi hi” (10.40.16)
He is also praying to the Lord. Oh! You have so many forms.

“Namaste adbhut singhaya
namo bhrugunan pataye
drapta-kshatra-vana-cchide
namas te raghu-varyaya
ravananta-karaya ca” (10.40.20)

“Namaste vasudevaya
namah shankarshanaya ca
pradyumnayaniruddhaya
satvatam? pataye namah” (10.40.21)
And he goes on and on, so these are the prayers of Akrur offered at the Lotus feet of the Lord at Akrur Ghat.