Krishna Book | Part [KB.CH38.05]

Taking him by the hand, Krishna and Balarama brought him to Their sitting room, where They offered him a very nice sitting place and water for washing his feet. They also worshiped him with a suitable presentation of honey mixed with other ingredients. When Akrura was thus comfortably seated, Krishna and Balarama offered Him a cow in charity and then brought very palatable dishes, and Akrura accepted them. When Akrura finished eating, Balarama gave him betel nut and spices, as well as pulp of sandalwood, just to make him more pleased and comfortable. The Vedic system of receiving a guest was completely observed by Lord Krishna Himself to teach all others how to receive a guest at home. It is a Vedic injunction that even if a guest is an enemy he should be received so well that he does not apprehend any danger from the host. If the host is a poor man, he should at least offer a straw mat as a sitting place and a glass of water to drink. Krishna and Balarama welcomed Akrura in a way just befitting his exalted position.

After Akrura was thus properly received and seated, Nanda Maharaja, the foster father of Krishna, said, "My dear Akrura, what shall I inquire from you? I know that you are being protected by Kamsa, who is most cruel and demoniac. His protection is just like the slaughterhouse keeper's protection of animals he will kill in the future. Kamsa is so selfish that he has killed the sons of his own sister, so how can I honestly believe that he is protecting the citizens of Mathura?" This statement is most significant. If the political or executive heads of the state are simply interested in themselves, they can never look after the welfare of the citizens.

As Nanda Maharaja spoke to Akrura with pleasing words, Akrura forgot all the fatigue of his day's journey from Mathura to Vrindavana.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Thirty-eighth Chapter of Krishna, "Akrura's Arrival in Vrindavana."

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Written by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada