The river was in high tide and the footprints of the Yadavas were more or less washed away. Big waves came rushing to the shore and wiped away some more footprints…

Suddenly Rukmini discovered a familiar footprint and sat beside it…. Her eyes brimmed over with tears…. These were the footprints her hair locks drooped over when she knelt at her Lord\'s feet every morning…. These were the footprints she worshipped with chandan…. The footprints of her Lord… of Sri Krishna…! They were deeply immersed in the sand. The impression engraved in the sand was filled with water.

Rukmini\'s streaming tears were making an offering in the water-filled footprints.

Daruk arrived and stood beside her….

He looked startled. He could not believe how the footprints filled to the brim with water could contain Rukmini\'s tears without spilling over. What was further surprising was that not a single tear had dropped out of the carved footprint….

It was not just Krishna… even his footprints were accepting of everyone….
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bhawana Somaaya began her career in journalism in the late 70s while studying for her BA degree in Psychology. Commencing with Free Press Journal\'s Cinema Journal as chief reporter, she moved to Super as a special correspondent while completing LLB at the Government Law College, Mumbai. In \'81 she joined Movie as an assistant editor and was promoted in \'85 as its joint editor. In \'89 Chitralekha asked her to launch their first English publication and in 2000 she joined as editor Screen, a film weekly of the Indian Express group.

She is the recipient of several prestigious awards and has contributed columns to Sunday Observer, Afternoon, Janmabhoomi, Pravasi, Hindustan Times,
The Hindu, The Pioneer and Newstime.

She has written seven books on the subject of show business, Amitabh Bachchan — The Legend, Salaam Bollywood, Take-25, The Story So Far, Cinema : Images and Issues, Hema Malini — The Authorised Biography and finally Fragmented Frames.

Krishna — The God Who Lived as Man is Bhawana\'s eighth book and her first attempt in fiction and transcreation.

AN EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK

Sitting beneath the peepal tree, Krishna closed his eyes but the images replayed in his mind. Dwarika Palace… Kurukshetra battle… Draupadi’s swayamvar mandap… Rukmini’s abduction… and glistening eyes of Satyabhama while leaving for Prabhas Kshetra.
The images conjured in sometimes flashbacks and sometimes in flash forwards. People… places… and memories!
The peepal tree above him spread its foliage providing a shade that resembled the Sheshnaag (serpent) with its multiple heads opened out. Krishna looked over the three rivers — Hiranya-Kapila and Saraswati flowing before him in three different directions. This was the holy Trivenisangam located close to Somnath Temple recognised as Prabhas Kshetra and revered for literature and fine arts.
Krishna recalled that it was only some time ago that he had renovated the Somnath Temple and enhanced it with gold and silver. It was only some time ago, that the Yadavas conducted elaborate prayers and
offerings here….
Today, sitting beneath the peepal tree, with his eyes closed, Krishna tried to relive all those moments.
He was in deep agony and conscious of a shooting pain passing through his entire body like a current…. It felt as if a thousand poisonous snakes were biting into his skin….
Before him was Jara, hands folded, seated on the ground.
Krishna’s foot pierced with an arrow had formed a pool of blood on the ground.
It wasn’t easy for him in his present condition to walk from the forest of Prabhas, all the way to the river shore.
It was all the result of the curse of Mata Gandhari…
…The curse of Durvasa…
…They had not gone futile!
One by one, all his brothers, uncles, nephews, children, grandchildren, friends and well-wishers were to be sacrificed into the flames to be finally joined by him.
It’s true that Krishna had foreseen the future, but it’s also true that he was just a helpless spectator to the events that unfolded before
his eyes.
Krishna wondered why he had to endure the torture of watching the devastation of his own people…. Was it necessary for him to witness the tragic scenario where the Yadavas degraded themselves…?
It’s true that Krishna did not actively participate on the battleground, but the violence and the bloodshed he witnessed continued to hound him even today. Was Arjuna right when he said that an empire created on the deathbed of loved ones was worthless…? Was that the reason the Pandavas could never sleep peacefully after the Kurukshetra battle…? Considering that they were the ones to initiate the battle for justice, had they in true sense conquered injustice…? Thoughts gushed into his mind and flooded him like the innumerable waves rising into the sea.
Krishna was hounded by questions and felt increasingly distraught.
He wondered if everyone felt the same way in their last moments. Innumerable memories… innumerable images… innumerable questions and innumerable expressions awakened a gamut of emotions in Krishna that didn’t allow him peace even for a moment.
He tried to distract himself but could not. He was restless. He would have preferred to meditate and enter into a samadhi where his aatma (soul) could be united with brahma (the ultimate truth), but that was not to be. Krishna found himself embroiled in a whirlpool
of emotions….
Strange… a man who lived his entire life by his principles and infinite knowledge… how could the soul of a man as enlightened as him feel so restless…?
How could somebody as clairvoyant, revered as a deity feel so out of control…? Could this be because he had conquered his future but remained distressed with his past…?
Or was this an indicator that there was no way out whereby even Krishna could save himself today?
And if this is what a deity incarnated as a human goes through, what about us poor mortals…?
The battle amongst the Yadavas had just ended.
So many dead bodies of brothers, kinsmen, children and grandchildren were all scattered over the dark, dense forest of Prabhas.
At a little distance, Krishna looked up at the skyline changing colours. The trio-rivers were getting ready to embrace the morning. There was a nip in the air and the peepal tree beneath which Krishna took refuge, dropped withered leaves that were strewn away in different directions, as if carrying tales of Krishna’s woes…. The first streak of sunrise piercing through the dark sky formed an orange blaze resembling a yajna flame. Though invisible by their presence, it felt as if the ambience echoed with a team of Brahmins chanting religious mantras...
Mamaivansho Jivloke Jivbhootah Sanatanah A
Manah Shashthanindriyani Prakrutisthani Karshte Ï
Krishna had said that after his lifetime we shall find him existing in the five ingredients of Nature, and the sixth would be the hearts of people where he would always reside.
Seated beneath the dense tree he asked himself if his was a death haunted by life or a life haunted by death, or was truth somewhere between the two…? The divine force who narrated his philosophy of life on the battlefield was restless today… and in his turbulent moment Krishna was reminiscent of his debut meeting with Draupadi.
Krishna slowly turned over the pages of his past. He was unable to fathom why Draupadi said that to him.
It was the day she was to return from Dwarika to Hastinapur and she had broached the topic unexpectedly…
…Feeling choked but voice full of force, her large expressive eyes as yet unshed with tears… Krishna had sensed her vulnerability.
“Didn’t you say that…?” Draupadi repeated her query, “Didn’t you say sanshayatam vinashayti…? You were right, my friend, awareness leads to questions. I should know this, I have lived my entire life as a question mark and every question I encountered added to my woes and tortured my dear ones like piercing arrows…. My questions, my doubts have damaged my self-esteem, bruised my loved ones! Now at least relieve me of this anxiety… pain… and questions.”
More memories sprang up like waves in Krishna’s mind adding to his torment.
Krishna wondered why he should be reflecting on all these episodes now, at this juncture when it was time for farewell…. Why did memories chase him like a mirage…?
Draupadi had come to him seeking freedom, but was Krishna free himself to grant her that privilege…?
So many questions still unanswered… so many people to be accountable to…! One by one they would all come seeking their rights…. All of them were to bind him and he had to seek salvation from all.
Or was it that it was only after liberating everyone that Krishna could find salvation, and knowing this he had begun the process…