The Destruction of Evil Naraka!

The Summary of chapter 59, entitled the Killing of the Demon Naraka, in the Srimad Bhagavatam, states:

"This chapter tells how Lord Krsna killed Narakasura, the son of the earth-goddess, and married the thousands of maidens the demon had kidnapped. It also describes how the Lord stole the parijata tree from heaven and how He behaved like an ordinary householder in each of His palaces.
After Narakasura stole Lord Varuna's umbrella, mother Aditi's earrings, and the playground of the demigods known as Mani-parvata, Indra went to Dvaraka and described the demons transgressions to Lord Krsna. Together with Queen Satyabhama, the Lord mounted His carrier Garuda and traveled to the capital of Narakasura's kingdom. On a field outside the city He decapitated the demon Mura with His disc. Then He fought Mura's seven sons and sent them all to the abode of death, after which Narakasura himself entered the battlefield on the back of an elephant. Naraka threw his sakti lance at Sri Krsna, but the weapon proved ineffective, and the Lord cut the demon's entire army to pieces. Finally, with His sharp-edged disc Krsna cut off Narakasura's head.
The earth-goddess, Prthvi, then approached Lord Krsna and gave Him the various items Narakasura had stolen. She offered prayers to the Lord and presented Naraka's frightened son at Lord Krsna's lotus feet. After pacifying the demon's son, Krsna entered Narakasura's palace, where He found sixteen thousand one hundred young women. As soon as they caught sight of the Lord, they all decided to accept Him as their husband. The Lord sent them to Dvaraka along with a great quantity of treasure and then went with Queen Satyabhama to the abode of Indra. There He returned Aditi's earrings, and Indra and his wife, Saci-devi, worshiped Him. On Satyabhama's request, Lord Krsna uprooted the heavenly parijata tree and put it on the back of Garuòa. After defeating Indra and the other demigods who opposed His taking of the tree, Krsna returned with Queen Satyabhama to Dvaraka, where He planted it in a garden adjacent to Satyabhama's palace.
Indra had originally come to Lord Krsna offering obeisances and begging Him to kill Narakasura, but afterwards, when his business had been accomplished, he quarreled with the Lord. The demigods are prone to anger because they become intoxicated with pride in their opulences.
The infallible Supreme Lord manifested Himself in sixteen thousand one hundred separate forms and married each of the sixteen thousand one hundred brides in a different temple. He took up the required activities of household life just like an ordinary person, accepting various kinds of service from each of His many wives.



Srila Prabhupada's Nectar of Devotion based on Srila Rupa Gosvami's Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu, says, in Chapter 46:

"An instance of astonishment in devotional service by indirect perception occurred when Maharaja Pariksit heard from Sukadeva Gosvami about Krsna's killing Narakasura, who had been fighting Krsna with eleven aksauhini divisions of soldiers. Each division of aksauhini soldiers contained several thousand elephants, several thousand horses and chariots and several hundreds of thousands of infantry soldiers. Narakasura possessed eleven such divisions, and all of them were throwing arrows toward Krsna, but Krsna killed them all, simply by throwing three arrows from His side. When Maharaja Pariksit heard of this wonderful victory, he immediately rubbed the tears from his eyes and became overwhelmed with joy. This instance is an example of astonishment in devotional service by indirect perception through aural reception."



But Krsna was so kind! His compassion knows no limit.

"Paundraka, Narakasura, Salva and Kamsa were all inimical toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but because all these kings constantly thought of Him, they achieved the same liberation—sarupya-mukti. The jnana-bhakta, the devotee who follows the path of jnana, also attains the same destination. If even the enemies of the Lord achieve salvation by constantly thinking about the Lord, what is to be said of pure devotees who always engage in the Lord's service and who think of nothing but the Lord in every activity?"
(S.B. 7.10.40, Purport)


Sri Sri Rukmini-Krsna-Sathyabhama, ISKCON Chennai