Kaliya, the Naga.

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Kaliya Mardana is a favorite story in India. It is about the child Krishna dancing on the head of Kaliya the fearsome Serpent.

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But is Kaliya the villain we are all told he is? Mythology tells us facts mixed with fiction. There is a grain of truth in these tales covered by hyperbole and imagination. Who were the Nagas? Were they the original inhabitants of the land? These are questions for another time. Let us go to the story of Kaliya the Naga.

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Rishi Kashyapa had two wives, Vinata and Kadru. From Vinata he had two sons Garuda and Aruna. Aruna became the charioteer of Surya, the Sun god and Garuda became the powerful king of birds and Vishnu’s trusted devotee.

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Kadru gave birth to a 1000 sons, all Nagas or serpents. Kaliya was one of the sons of Kashyapa and Kadru. He was a powerful naga with a thousand heads and a half-brother to Garuda.

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Now, when a man has two wives, there is bound to be enmity between them. A wise man does not interfere between them and Rishi Kashyapa was very wise.

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The enmity spilled over to the children and Garuda and the Nagas hated each other.

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The story of how the enmity began is a different story for another time.

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There were frequent battles between the Nagas and Garuda.

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Garuda was powerful and received a boon from Indra that the Nagas would be his food.

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Now that he had the power from the boon from Indra, Garuda proceeded to hunt the Nagas indiscriminately. He killed wantonly from hate rather than for food.

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The Nagas beseeched the gods as they feared extinction. The other gods were angry with Indra for giving Garuda so much power over the Nagas. They meditated between the Nagas and Garuda.

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An agreement was reached that every day one Naga would report to Garuda as his food. This would prevent the indiscriminate slaughter of the Nagas.

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Garuda accepted and so a Naga would report daily and Garuda would eat him.

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After some time, the Nagas proposed that they would conduct Sarpa Balis, a form of worship, and the food that was obtained from this would be given to Garuda. Garuda accepted.

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But Kaliya did not agree to this or accept that Garuda was superior to all the Nagas. He treated Garuda with contempt.

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Garuda then began to harass Kaliya and his family. They were then living on Ramnaka island and not posing a threat to anyone.

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Kaliya shifted to the Kalindi River, another name for the Yamuna River.

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Garuda chased him there and there was a big fight between them. Garuda lashed the waters of the Kalindi with his wings to churn the river and force up Kaliya and his family from beneath the waters where they were hiding. The thrashing caused the waters to rise high in the sky and fall with great force on the ground.

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Rishi Saubhari was doing tapas and meditation on the banks of the river. The sage was drenched and his penance disturbed. He cursed Garuda for being so unfeeling of others. If Garuda ever again entered the area, his body would shatter into a thousand pieces.

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A chastened Garuda went away and Kaliya and his family heaved a sigh of relief.

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But Garuda told Kaliya he would be waiting for him to step out of the area.

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Kaliya was convinced by his family that there was no point in continuing to oppose Garuda. It was better to stay in the waters of the Kalindi as they would be protected by the Rishi’s curse.

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So Kaliya stayed in the waters of the Kalindi there. Over the years the poison in Kaliya killed off most of the living things around. Only one tree survived, this was the tree on which Garuda sat to rest when he was returning from Devloka with Amrita.

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Years went by and no one came to the area and Kaliya and his family lived in peace.

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Then came Krishna and the Gopalas. The lord knew it was time to clean up the area and make it fit for habitation and also end Kaliya’s exile.

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So he reached down into the dark water of the river and Kaliya. Kaliya disturbed after years of peace resented the intrusion and attacked Krishna.

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Krishna got up on the hood of the many-headed Kaliya and danced merrily. The weight of Krishna is the weight of the universe and Kaliya could not bear it. He began to vomit blood and his family rose up from the waters to plead with Krishna.

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Krishna stopped and smiled at them. Kaliya felt the weight on his head lift.

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Krishna asked Kaliya and his family to go back to their island home. They did not need to worry about Garuda as Kaliya’s head had the marks of Krishna’s feet. Garuda would not harm anyone who was under the protection of the lord.

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Kaliya and his family joyfully left for their home and the feud between the half-brothers was laid to rest.

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What could this story be telling us as an allegory? Maybe there were two brothers or cousins fighting over their father’s property. The feud and fighting had left the land barren, but Krishna came, and both the brothers surrendered to him. The fighting stopped, and the poison left the area, and the land and river became fruitful and livable again.

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Think over the story again, you may get a new perspective.

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Namaste until the next time. 🙏🌹

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