Jajali Muni and Utkala

The sound of water splashing repeatedly disturbed Sage Jajali Muni’s penance. He opened his eyes to find a young, ruggedly handsome asura fishing in the river running through his ashram at Gangasagar. There was a vast pile of fish lying on the side of the asura. 

Jajali Muni was livid. He bit back his anger and said, “What are you doing?”

The young asura turned when he heard the voice of the sage.

“Oh! Did I disturb your meditation?” 

There was an unmistakable hint of condescension in his voice. “I’m afraid that some of us need to eat to survive. We can’t all eat air.” 

Ignoring the mockery that was now clearly evident in the asura’s voice, the sage replied, “Who are you? Don’t you know this area is restricted, as it belongs to the ashram? You are not allowed to fish in these waters.”

“My name is Utkala, son of Hayagrivasura.”

“You have already caught a lot of fish. Take them and go away from here immediately.”

Utkala laughed aloud this time, leaving subtlety out completely. 

“You know my father, right? I come from a family that does its own thing. We don’t follow rules and regulations. We make them.”

Sage Jajali replied, “Oh! You are that one’s son, the same one who terrorises everyone because of his might? I wonder why you are so proud of that? I would be ashamed to be the son of such an arrogant person?” This time, the condescension in the Muni’s voice was unmistakable. 

Angered by this, Utkala created a greater furore with his fishing net and rod and continued fishing, killing many sea creatures with callous abandon. The loads of fish that fell onto the banks of the river trembled and writhed in agony, as their gills gasped for air and fatally failed. 

Utkala – Bakasura – Jajali Muni’s Curse

The sage could no longer hold back his anger. He grew livid with rage and cursed Utkala, “Since you love grabbing fish so much, may you be born as a demon crane in your next birth.”

The curse manifested immediately as Utkala took the form of a gigantic crane. In an instant, he regained his asura form. But Utkala realised what his next birth held in store for him. Appalled and full of guilt for his errant behaviour, he fell at the sage’s feet. 

“Sire, I deeply regret my actions. I apologise for ignoring your warnings. I have learnt my lesson. Please, I beg you to free me from this horrible curse.”

His anger spent, the sage too realised he had given in to his emotions. As a practitioner of sattvic life, he had surrendered to tamasic rage too soon for his own good. His penance would be marred by this curse, even if the victim deserved it. 

He looked at Utkala with compassion and said, “I’m afraid I cannot take back your curse. You have to bear the karmic consequences of killing so many fish with utter callousness. However, I promise you this. Yes, you will be born as a crane demon in the Dwapara Yuga. But you will be released not only from this curse but the entire cycle of births and deaths by Lord Vishnu when he takes birth on earth to restore Dharma.”

Utkala had little choice but to accept the sage’s words. As promised, he was born as Bakasura – the Crane Demon in the Dwapara Yuga, as the brother of Putana and Aghasura. The three of them, along with other demons and asuras, became Kamsa’s associates, helping him gain power throughout the land of Bharatavarsha, making him a despicable despot. 

Bakasura and Kamsa

Kamsa seemed unstoppable. He knew no fear until the day the divine prophecy heralded his end at the hands of his sister’s child, Devaki. From that day on, Kamsa was shaking in fear, acting irrationally, sending demon after demon to kill children in Gokul and the surrounding villages where it was rumoured that the miracle child born to kill him was hiding among the cattle-herders. 

The first one to be sent for this heinous crime was Bakasura’s sister, Putana. The news of her mysterious death devastated him. When he was grieving for her, suddenly, the episode of Sage Jajali from his previous life flashed in his mind. That’s when it struck him that the time for his moksha was coming. His heart filled with peace, and all he did was wait for the summons.

Recently, rumours of Vatsasura‘s death were doing the rounds. Bakasura knew that they were not rumours. They were allusions to the coming of something so big that it would impact the entire world for generations to come. The story of that miracle child would be timeless, lessons learnt from his life so wonderfully sustainable that they would evolve and adjust to the needs and desires of every new generation.

Expectedly, Kamsa called for Bakasura, who went unhesitatingly to Vrindavan, taking his original shape of a gigantic, ferocious crane. knowing his days were numbered, and happily so. When he reached the banks of the River Yamuna, he heard children playing in the water. 

Krishna Redeems Bakasura-Utkala

Bakasura recognised the miracle child instantly. It was easy to recognise anyone who carried divine power. Light radiated from the boy, even as his friends followed him like sheep do their trusted shepherd. They sat in rapt attention as he played the flute, lost in the wonderful music. They laughed heartily at everything he said. They literally worshipped their beloved friend. Little Kanha’s pure divinity held the children of Vrindavan in its thrall.

Even as Bakasura absorbed all this, he saw that Krishna was looking at him too, smiling, his eyes twinkling invitingly.

In an instant, before anyone could realise what was happening, Bakasura flew down swiftly, grabbed the boy in his humongous beak, and swallowed him in one fell swoop. The other children gasped and stood shaking with fear and uncertainty, calling his name. 

“Kanha! Kanha! Krishna! Krishna! Where are you?”

The words were music to Bakasura’s ears. He wanted to hear this name, the name that would release him from bondage, permanently. He repeated the name in his own mind. 

Suddenly, Bakasura felt a searing pain in his throat that had heated up. He opened his mouth wide and realised that Kanha, completely unharmed, was coming out with his hands on his hips and a smile on his lips.

When he reached the tip of his huge beak, Kanha turned around and, holding the two beaks in his two hands, he ripped them apart. The beak tore into two as easily as a slender leaf would in the hands of a child.

Bakasura fell dead. Krishna’s grace released his soul to become one with the Lord, emptying his karmic cup. The curse-cum-blessing of Jajali Muni came true.

The children cheered joyfully, seeing their beloved friend safe. 

Author’s Note:

Hayagrivasura, the horse-faced demon, is distinct from Lord Hayagriv, the horse-faced incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Hayagrivasura was the son of Kashyapa and Danu, who had a boon that someone with the same physical form could kill him only. Lord Vishnu took the form of Hayagriv to kill Hayagrivasura – story found in Garga Samhita.

Pictures created using Google Gemini and ChatGPT.