An Amazing Hymn of Praise….

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Sri Krishna then decided that since Yamunaji – the daughter of the Sun – was His sweetheart, His darling, and was later on to become His fourth principal Queen at Dwarka, He would throw out the Kaliya nag from inside her waters.

Shri Vallabhacharyaji Maharaj says that our senses are like the Kaliya nag, and when we indulge indiscriminately with the 'vishayas' (sensual objects), it is like imbuing 'vish' (poison).

So, the Lord Shri Krishna jumped into the waters of the Yamuna, with the purpose of purifying the sense organs of His devotees, absorbing the poison as Shankarji had done, and removing the Kaliya nag from there.

Kaliya nag was fast asleep. His wives – the nagins - saw Shri Krishna, and asked, "How did you come here? Go away quickly! Our husband is extremely venomous!"

Shri Krishna said, "Let him be as venomous as he wants," and kicked the sleeping serpent, calling out a challenge. The serpent woke up hissing with anger. When his eyes fell on Shri Krishna, however, he was enchanted. "I have never before, in my life, forgiven anyone," he told the Lord. "However, I am bewitched by your beauty. So – if you desire your own good, leave me quickly.

Shri Krishna said, "Oh, Kaliya – I did not come here to simply turn back! The purpose of my coming here is to make you go away. I you agree, you can leave this river immediately. If not, we will fight it out."

Shri Krishna and Kaliya nag then began to wrestle. Kaliya caught Shri Krishna tightly in his coils and gave Him such a bite, that or a moment, the Lord became immobile. All the people in Vraja were horrified to see this. They began to weep and lament. Balaramji, however, knew the power of the Lord. He managed to convince everybody that there was no cause for fear.

When Shri Krishna saw how tense everyone had become, he inflated His body, and freed Himself from the serpent's coils. This angered Kaliya even more, and he hissed with renewed anger. Shri Krishna jumped onto the head of this hundred-headed serpent, and began to perform the Tandav Nritya (divine dance). The Gandharvas, Apsaras, and other great Devtas – including Brahma and Shankar – came to see the Lord's Tandav Nritya. Shri Shukadevji Maharaj describes it:

"Parikshit, the Lord Danced such a tandav on the heads of Kaliya nag, that His feet tore the serpent's hoods to shreds. The serpent's body was crushed. He began to vomit blood. Then he thought of God, and mentally surrendered to Him."

Seeing this, the wives of Kaliya nag began to eulogize the Lord with an amazing hymn of praise. They said, "Lord, You have punished our husband – this is not your justice, it is Your Grace! Because, even great ascetics are unable to obtain the touch of Your feet. Our husband is guilty. We have no idea as to what austerities he may have performed in the past, to obtain Your Grace in this way."

The Lord was pleased, and jumped down from Kaliya's head. The serpent regained consciousness, and said, "Shri Krishna, whether You control me, or Grace me; whether you punish me, or show mercy – I will say what is in my mind. Please tell me, is it not You who created the world?"

"Yes," replied the Lord, "I have created the world."
"Is it not You, who became the world"
"It is I who have become the world."
"Are you not its abhinnanimittopaadan karana (material and instrumental cause)?"
"Yes certainly I am."
"All that is in this world – the jaati, aakriti, svabhaav, all the good and the bad tendencies, all the strength, ability and power – is it not all created by You?"
"Yes, it is."
It is not You, who made me a serpent?"
"It is, indeed, I who made you a serpent."
"It is not You, who put venom in my tooth?"
"It is."
"Then, what is new, about what I do? If it pleases You, then uplift me; or leave me, but You have to admit that You are responsible for all that has happened here."

This argument left Shri Krishna with nothing more to say. He said, "You came to this spot, because you feared Garudaji. However, I now plan to frolic here, so it is not suitable for you to remain here. I have placed my foot on you head. As a result, you are now liberated. You need fear Garudaji no more and can safely return to your original home."

Even the snake is a creature of the Kingdom of the Lord. Hence, even snakes have their uses, and deserve a place to live, and food to eat.

Answering Parikshit's question as to the cause of the quarrel between the Garuda and Kaliya nag, Shri Shukadevji Maharaj said, "Kaliya nag had, on one occasion, refused to give his portion of the routine sacrifice given to Garuda. So. Garudaji was annoyed with him. At first, Kaliya nag fought with Garudaji, but when he lost, he went and hid in the Yamuna.

Garudaji did not come to the Kaliya daha, because Saubhari Rishi had cursed Garudaji, saying that he would die if he came to this spot. It was most inappropriate of Saubhari Rishi to curse the mount of the Lord in this way. As a result, he got entangled in sensual pleasures. And, although Garudaji did not come to the Kaliya daha, the Lord came, and purified the spot.

When Shri Krishna emerged from the water, after subduing Kaliya, he was embraced lovingly by all the people. His father, Nandababa, gave lots of offerings to the Brahmins and mother Yashoda Maiya Looked as though life had been restored to her.

Oil painting technique – India centric

Oil painting is the most interesting technique in art. Unlike other paintings or art forms, oil painting is a process in which colored pigments are painted on the canvas with a drying oil medium as a binder. This medium helps colors blend beautifully to create layers and also makes them appear rich and dense. Several varieties of oil are used in this painting such as sunflower oil, linseed oil, etc., and depending on the quality of the oil, a particular consistency of the paint is developed. With the use of an oil medium, the painting gets a natural sheen on the surface which appears extremely attractive. India is famous for its old tradition of making oil paintings. This art form was brought by Europeans in the 18th century and is now practiced by almost all well-known artists. Nirmal, a small tribal town in the state of Telangana is the center of traditional oil paintings in India where the local people practice it with dedication. Most Indian artists still use the traditional technique of oil painting.

Canvas of the required size is prepared

The artists use either a wood panel or canvas made from linen or cotton. Sometimes the canvas is stretched onto the wooden frame to form a solid base, or cardboard may be used. The canvas is coated with a layer of white paint or chalk mixed with animal glue. This mixture is then smoothed and dried to form a uniform, textured surface. The wooden panel is more expensive and heavier but its solidity is an advantage in making detailed paintings with ease.

Sketch is drawn on the canvas

Now the artist starts to draw the subject of the painting on the canvas using the actual charcoal or a charcoal pencil. Sometimes, he may sketch with thinned paint as well.

Oil paint is applied using paint brushes or palette knives

Now that the rough sketch is prepared, the artist is now ready to paint. Oil paint, a special paint that contains particles of pigments suspended in a drying oil (usually linseed oil), is again mixed with oil to make it thinner for applying it on the canvas. Proper consistency of the paint is maintained to avoid its breakage. The most important rule for the application of oil paint is “Fat over lean” in which the first layer of paint is thin and later, thicker layers are applied. This means that each additional layer of paint contains more oil. This results in getting a stable paint film. Traditionally, paint was applied using paint brushes but now the artists also use palette knives to create crisp strokes. To paint using this technique, the edge of the palette knife is used to create textured strokes that appear different from that of a paintbrush. Sometimes, oil paints are blended simply using fingers for getting the desired gradation.

Smaller oil paintings, with very fine detail, are relatively easier to paint than larger ones. The most attractive feature of these paintings is the natural shiny appearance that is obtained on the surface because of the use of oil paint. The blending of colors looks extremely realistic and this is the reason why oil paintings are loved by everyone throughout the world.