Krishna saving the gopas from the Munjavana fire

Once, Krishna was playing with the sakhas in the shade of Bhandiravata. 

Nearby, the cows drank water from the Yamuna and began to graze on the lush, green grass in the fields. 

In doing so, they gradually wandered off to Munjatavi some distance away. 

It was a summer day, and the scorching heat was drying up the munja plants and baking the sand on the ground. 

The cows had roamed off without Krishna, and they now entered this munja forest, which was devoid of water and shade. 

This Munjatavi was so dense that they lost track of the path by which they had come. 

Overwhelmed with thirst and heat, the cows became restless.

In their search for the cows, the sakhas had also left Krishna and Balarama and, entering Munjatavi, they too became agitated by thirst and heat. 

It was then that the followers of the wicked Kamsa set Munjavana on fire. 

Within a moment, the wind had spread the fire everywhere, so that it surrounded the cows and the cowherd boys. 

Seeing no other means of escape, they began to cry out to Krishna and Baladeva who heard their call and immediately went to them. 

“Close your eyes for just a moment,” Krishna told them, and in that moment He swallowed the terrible forest fire. 

Upon opening their eyes, the sakhas saw that they were now standing with Krishna and Baladeva in the cooling shade of Bhandiravata, the cows peacefully lying nearby chewing their cud. 

The jiva suffering in the forest fire of material existence can similarly be easily delivered from this suffering simply by taking shelter of Krishna. 

Another name for Munjatavi is Isikatavi. 

On the other side of the Yamuna is the village of Bhandira.

This is a section of the book “Vrindavana Lila”.

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