"At that moment, O, how can I contemplate and describe that scene to you, king?" - Suka could not proceed, He could not suppress the flow of Ananda, grief, wonder and adoration that rose from his heart. He was so overcome that he covered his face behind his clasped palms in a vain effort to suppress his tears.
Parikshith saw this and he exclaimed, "Master! Master! What wonder is this? What happened later? What calamity intervened that you are grieving thus? Please tell me quick."
Suka recovered his composure, wiping the flow of tears with the end of his ochre robe. He said, "Maharaja! No calamity took place, yet, this wonder happened. Krishna grew so fast, so big and so tall every moment that the serpent had to uncoil from around Him, ring by ring. When the Gopas and Gopis saw the little child growing before their very eyes, they were struck with amazement and joy. At last, the serpent had to release its hold. It was too exhausted to do any harm; still, its anger was unabated; so, it vomited poison into the waters and the air. It lifted its hoods every few moments, and fixed its glare on Krishna as if its desire to finish Him was still unquenched."
"Meanwhile, Krishna caught it by its tail, and whirled the serpent pretty fast; He beat the surface of the water with its body. This forced the serpent to hang down its heads, but, with great effort it struggled to keep them erect over the waters. Then, Krishna jumped upon it and holding the tail in one hand, He decided to dance upon the line of hoods! The serpent could not bear the weight of the Lord, stepping merrily from hood to hood; it was bleeding profusely from nose and mouth; it whined piteously through pain and shame. It could scarcely breathe. It was about to die."
"Seeing this, the people who were gathered on the bank shouted, in their joy and confidence, 'Krishna! Come over to the bank, now. You have saved us all from this monster. The crisis is over. You have won the victory; our prayers have been answered. We have won the fruit of our good deeds.' While the cowherds were thus exulting over the amazing turn of events, the serpentesses, who were the consorts of the monster rose from the depths of the pool, sobbing aloud in great anguish. They fell at the feet of Krishna and prayed, 'Lord! You have incarnated with the avowed object of punishing the wicked and the vicious; so your trampling on this monster and curbing his pride is right and proper. It is but just. You have merely carried out Your task and mission. But, however cruel our husband was, we are sure that his nature has been transformed when Your feet were planted on his heads. Pardon him, O Lord, and give us back our husband, with your gracious blessings. Save him and bless him that he no longer causes any living thing any harm.'"
"The Lord condescended to grant their prayers. He pardoned the monster, Kaliya. He released him, with the admonition: 'Henceforth, do not inflict injury on any one, without provocation; be Sathwic in nature. I bless you that no one will harm you and provoke you into vengeance. You carry on your heads My footprints and so, even your natural enemy, the Garuda eagle, will not harm you any more. Go and live in peace.'"
