Kalayavana

"King Sala Visits Kālayāvana", Folio from a Harivamsa

Kālayāvana (Sanskrit: कालयावन, lit. black Greek/Yona) was an asura who invaded Mathura with an army of thirty million yavanas against Krishna.

Invasion

Kalayavana Surrounds Mathura Page from a Dispersed Bhagavata Purana Series - Brooklyn Museum

According to the Vishnu Purana and Harivamsa, Kalayavana was the son of a Brahmin named Ganga, and a Yavana princess. This legend appears to indicate an invasion from across the Himalayas, meaning one of the Central Asian, Middle Eastern or Ancient Greek provinces. After the invasion by combined forces of Jarasandha of Magadha, Kalayavan and their grand alliance, Krishna departed to build the city of Dvārakā amidst sea, transported all his people and left them there.

The legend goes like this: Lord Shri Krishna to save humanity from the evils of an yet another imminent battle with mighty Jarasandha flees Mathura [hence another name of Krishna, Ran-Chod Rai, one who fled war field] and moves his kingdom to newly built Dwarka. Kalayavan, who stood by Jarasandha chases Shri Krishna to Dwarka. Pretending to flee yet again from war field, Shri Krishna lures Kalayavana into the cave where the great king of Treta yuga, Muchukunda, one of the forefathers of Lord Shri Rama was in a deep slumber of thousands of years after helping devas in an epic war with Asuras. Contemplating an absolutely undisturbed sleep he was given a boon that anyone who dared to disturb his sleep would get burnt to ashes immediately. Fast forward to Dwapara yuga, in the darkness deep inside the cave, Kalayavan mistakenly wakes up Muchukunda from his sleep, and sure to Muchukunda's powers Kalayavan was decimated into ashes instantaneously with a fiery glance. And then Muchukunda was delighted to see Lord Shri Krisha there, who was none other than Lord Vishnu. Sri Krishna advises him to perform Tapas to cleanse the accumulated sins to attain Moksha (liberation). After meeting with lord, Muchukunda sets out of the cave. And the story narrates that he is astonished to see that all creatures had shrunken in size over time while he rested in cave, indicating long ages gone by. Muchukunda then goes north to Gandamadana Mountain and from there to Badrikashrama for doing penance and finally achieves liberation, the Moksha.

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