7 min
Mahabharata story: Lord Damodar and Shishupala deliverence! The stories of Mahabharata
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- Religion & Spirituality
In Mahabharata Bhishmacharya addresses the Lord as ‘Damodara sahah’ which means Lord Damodara one who is very tolerant.
In Mahabharata, the Lord is called by many names such as Krishna and Vasudeva repeatedly, but the word Damodara is used only in 2 or 3 instances.
One such instance is related to the birth of Sishupala.
When Sishupala was born he had three eyes and 4 hands.
And as soon as he was born, he screamed and brayed like an ass.
His parents were scared and they wanted to abandon him.
However at that time there was a celestial voice which spoke, “Do not abandon this child. He will be very superior in strength and power and very fortunate person. You can’t slay him now. That person who will slay him is already born.”
Then his mother folded her hands and asked the corporeal voice, “Please tell me who will slay my son.”
The voice replied, “When your son sees that person, his additional eye will disappear and when you keep the son on the lap of that person his additional two hands will fall off. That person will be the killer of your son.”
This news spread across like wildfire and when kings of different provinces heard about this, they were astonished and they came to see the child.
When they came, Sishupala’s mother kept the child on their lap to see if the eyes and hands are disappearing.
Even after thousands of kings saw the child and put him on their lap, the change which the celestial voice said did not happen.
One day Lord Krishna and Balarama visited Sishupala’s palace to see the child.
Mahabharata verse (2.40.16) calls the Lord as Damodara as follows.
abhyarcitau tadaa veerau preetyaa caabhyadhikaṃ tataḥ
putram daamodarotsange devi samnyadadhaat svayam
“And saluting everybody according to his rank and the king and queen also, and enquiring after every body’s welfare, both Rama and Keshava took their seats. And after those heroes had been worshiped, the queen with great pleasure herself placed the child on the lap of Damodara.”
As soon as the child was place on the Lord’s lap, the additional eye and the additional two arms disappeared.
Then Sishupala’s mother became anxious and asked, “Please forgive all the offences of my son Sishupala for my sake.”
The Lord replied, “O aunt, I will forgive all his offenses. Even when his time of slaying comes, I will pardon him up to 100 offenses and only if he goes beyond this I will slay him.
In Mahabharata Bhishmacharya addresses the Lord as ‘Damodara sahah’ which means Lord Damodara one who is very tolerant.
In Mahabharata, the Lord is called by many names such as Krishna and Vasudeva repeatedly, but the word Damodara is used only in 2 or 3 instances.
One such instance is related to the birth of Sishupala.
When Sishupala was born he had three eyes and 4 hands.
And as soon as he was born, he screamed and brayed like an ass.
His parents were scared and they wanted to abandon him.
However at that time there was a celestial voice which spoke, “Do not abandon this child. He will be very superior in strength and power and very fortunate person. You can’t slay him now. That person who will slay him is already born.”
Then his mother folded her hands and asked the corporeal voice, “Please tell me who will slay my son.”
The voice replied, “When your son sees that person, his additional eye will disappear and when you keep the son on the lap of that person his additional two hands will fall off. That person will be the killer of your son.”
This news spread across like wildfire and when kings of different provinces heard about this, they were astonished and they came to see the child.
When they came, Sishupala’s mother kept the child on their lap to see if the eyes and hands are disappearing.
Even after thousands of kings saw the child and put him on their lap, the change which the celestial voice said did not happen.
One day Lord Krishna and Balarama visited Sishupala’s palace to see the child.
Mahabharata verse (2.40.16) calls the Lord as Damodara as follows.
abhyarcitau tadaa veerau preetyaa caabhyadhikaṃ tataḥ
putram daamodarotsange devi samnyadadhaat svayam
“And saluting everybody according to his rank and the king and queen also, and enquiring after every body’s welfare, both Rama and Keshava took their seats. And after those heroes had been worshiped, the queen with great pleasure herself placed the child on the lap of Damodara.”
As soon as the child was place on the Lord’s lap, the additional eye and the additional two arms disappeared.
Then Sishupala’s mother became anxious and asked, “Please forgive all the offences of my son Sishupala for my sake.”
The Lord replied, “O aunt, I will forgive all his offenses. Even when his time of slaying comes, I will pardon him up to 100 offenses and only if he goes beyond this I will slay him.
7 min