Krishna Swallows the Forest Fire

When a raging forest fire surrounded the people, cowherd boys and cows of Vraja, Krishna heard their call for shelter and swallowed the fire.

When Krishna rose from the Yamuna after subduing the serpent Kaliya, the people of Vraja were overjoyed. They were so tired that instead of returning home that night, they slept on the bank of the river. At midnight a fierce fire suddenly broke out in the dry forest and began closing in on the sleeping people from every side. Woken by the heat of the flames, they cried out in fear and turned to Krishna and Balarama for shelter: "O Krishna, we are yours alone, save us from this fire." Seeing his loved ones in such distress, the Lord of unlimited power swallowed that terrible fire.

Some time later something similar happened again. The cowherd boys were absorbed in play, and their cows, grazing on fresh grass, wandered far away into a dense forest of reeds called Munjatavi. As the boys reached it searching for them, a fire broke out in the forest, driven by a strong wind. The dry reeds roared into flame and the fire began closing in on them from all sides. The cows and boys trembled with fear.

They called out, "O Krishna, O Balarama, we take shelter in you, please save us." The Lord smiled and said, "Do not be afraid. Just close your eyes." Trusting their friend completely, the boys closed their eyes. In that very moment Krishna, the master of all yoga, swallowed the blazing forest fire. When the boys opened their eyes, there was no trace of fire, and they found themselves standing safely with their cows back near the Bhandira banyan tree. Amazed, they thought that their Kanhaiya must surely be a god.

Saints explain that this forest fire stands for the fire of worldly sorrow and desire that surrounds the soul on every side. When the soul calls out to the Lord with full faith, closes the eyes of its ego and follows his word, the Lord himself swallows that fire.

Source

Shrimad Bhagavatam, Canto 10, ch. 17 and 19

Place

Banks of the Yamuna and Munjatavi, Vraja

Lesson

For one who calls on the Lord with full faith, the Lord himself swallows every fire of life.