Krsna and Balarama in Dvaraka

Once while Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were living peacefully in Their great city of Dvārakā, there was the rare occasion of a full solar eclipse, such as takes place at the end of every kalpa, or day of Brahmā. 

At the end of every kalpa the sun is covered by a great cloud, and incessant rain covers the lower planetary systems up to Svargaloka. 

By astronomical calculation, people were informed about this great eclipse prior to its taking place, and therefore everyone, both men and women, decided to assemble at the holy place in Kurukṣetra known as Samanta-pañcaka.

The Samanta-pañcaka pilgrimage site is celebrated because Lord Paraśurāma performed great sacrifices there after having killed all the kṣatriyas in the world twenty-one times. 

Lord Paraśurāma killed all the kṣatriyas, and their accumulated blood flowed like a stream. He dug five big lakes at Samanta-pañcaka and filled them with this blood. 

Lord Paraśurāma is Viṣṇu-tattva, Krsna's expansion. As stated in the Īśopaniṣad, Viṣṇu-tattva cannot be contaminated by any sinful activity. Yet although Lord Paraśurāma is fully powerful and uncontaminated, in order to exhibit ideal character, He performed great sacrifices at Samanta-pañcaka to atone for His so-called sinful killing of the kṣatriyas. 

By His example, Lord Paraśurāma established that the killing art, although sometimes necessary, is not good. He considered Himself culpable for the sinful killing of the kṣatriyas; therefore, how much more are we culpable for such abominable unsanctioned acts? 

Thus, killing of living entities is prohibited from time immemorial all over the world.

Taking advantage of the occasion of the solar eclipse, all important persons visited the holy place of pilgrimage. Some of the important personalities are mentioned as follows. 

Among the elderly persons there were Akrūra, Vasudeva and Ugrasena; among the younger generation there were Gada, Pradyumna, Sāmba, and many other members of the Yadu dynasty who had come there with a view to atone for sinful activities accrued in the course of discharging their respective duties. 

Because almost all the members of the Yadu dynasty went to Kurukṣetra, some important personalities, like Aniruddha, the son of Pradyumna, and Kṛtavarmā, the commander-in-chief of the Yadu dynasty, along with Sucandra, Śuka and Sāraṇa, remained in Dvārakā to protect the city.

All the members of the Yadu dynasty were naturally very beautiful, and yet on this occasion, when they appeared duly decorated with gold necklaces and flower garlands, dressed in valuable clothing and properly armed with their respective weapons, their natural beauty and personalities were a hundred times enhanced. 

The members of the Yadu dynasty came to Kurukṣetra in their gorgeously decorated chariots resembling the airplanes of the demigods, pulled by big horses that moved like the waves of the ocean, and some of them rode on sturdy, stalwart elephants that moved like the clouds in the sky. 

Their wives were carried on beautiful palanquins by beautiful men whose features resembled those of the Vidyādharas. 

The entire assembly looked as beautiful as an assembly of the demigods of heaven.

After arriving in Kurukṣetra, the members of the Yadu dynasty took their baths ceremoniously, with self-control, as enjoined in the śāstras, and they observed fasting for the whole period of the eclipse in order to nullify the reactions of their sinful activities. 

Since it is a Vedic custom to give in charity as much as possible during the hours of the eclipse, the members of the Yadu dynasty distributed many hundreds of cows in charity to the brāhmaṇas. 

All those cows were fully decorated with nice dress and ornaments. The special feature of these cows was that they had golden ankle bells and flower garlands on their necks.

All the members of the Yadu dynasty again took their baths in the lakes created by Lord Paraśurāma. 

After this they sumptuously fed the brāhmaṇas with first-class cooked food, all prepared in butter. 

According to the Vedic system, there are two classes of food. One is called raw food, and the other is called cooked food. Raw food does not include raw vegetables and raw grains, but food boiled in water; whereas cooked food is made in ghee. 

Capatis, dahl, rice and ordinary vegetables are called raw foods, as are fruits and salads. 

But purīs, kacuri, saṅgosas, sweet balls, etc., are called cooked foods. 

All the brāhmaṇas invited on that occasion by the members of the Yadu dynasty were fed sumptuously with cooked food.

The ceremonial functions performed by the members of the Yadu dynasty externally resembled the ritualistic performances performed by the karmīs. 

When a karmī performs some ritualistic ceremony, his ambition is sense gratification--good position, good wife, good house, good children or good wealth; but the ambition of the members of the Yadu dynasty was different. 

Their ambition was to offer perpetual faith and devotion to Kṛṣṇa. 

All the members of the Yadu dynasty were great devotees. As such, after many, many births of accumulated pious activities, they were given the chance to associate with Lord Kṛṣṇa. 

In going to take their baths in the place of pilgrimage at Kurukṣetra or observing the regulative principles during the solar eclipse or feeding the brāhmaṇas in all their activities, they simply thought of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. 

Their ideal worshipable Lord was Kṛṣṇa, and no one else.

After feeding the brāhmaṇas, it is the custom for the host, with their permission, to accept prasādam. Thus, with the permission of the brāhmaṇas, all the members of the Yadu dynasty took lunch. 

Then they selected resting places underneath big, shadowy trees, and when they had taken sufficient rest, they prepared to receive visitors, among whom there were relatives and friends, as well as many subordinate kings and rulers.

From "Krsna Book" by Srila Prabhupada*