Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami
From the book “Sri Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā”:
[Hrada and daha both mean “a deep pool within a river”.] The current name of this place is Kālīya-daha. Śrī Kṛṣṇa subdued the serpent Kālīya here. The keli-kadamba tree from which Śrī Kṛṣṇa jumped with great speed into the Kālīya-hrada stands nearby. All of the trees and creepers around the lake were burnt to ashes by the poison of the Kālīya serpent. Only this one keli-kadamba tree remained. The mighty and valiant Garuḍa was once carrying a pot of nectar from the heavenly planets in order to free his mother Vinatā from the slavery of his stepmother Kadrū. He rested on this keli-kadamba tree for some time, and the strength of the nectar’s fragrance, or a drop of the nectar itself that had spilled, was enough to save this keli-kadamba tree.
Kālīyanāga was also very valiant and powerful. When he tied Kṛṣṇa in his coils, Kṛṣṇa became somewhat helpless and motionless. At that time, the Nāgapatnīs (wives of Kālīya), who were great devotees of Kṛṣṇa, prayed, “We would rather be widows than be the wives of a husband opposed to Bhagavān.” But when Kṛṣṇa freed Himself from the serpent’s coils and began to dance on and kick Kālīya’s hoods, Kālīya vomited blood from his thousands of mouths and surrendered unto the Lord. At that time, the Nāgapatnīs folded their hands and begged Kṛṣṇa to spare their husband’s life, considering his surrendered mood. Their prayers pleased Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He granted Kālīyanāga freedom from fear and ordered him to go to Ramaṇaka-dvīpa with his family. He assured Kālīya of His protection, saying, “You need no longer fear Garuḍa. When he sees My footprints on your hoods, he will forget his enmity towards you.”
The Nāgapatnīs prayed as follows: “O Lord, Śrī Lakṣmī-devī gave up all her desires, took a vow and performed austerities for a long, long time just to attain the dust of Your lotus feet. She nonetheless failed to achieve her heart’s desire. Who knows what pious deed Kālīyanāga performed to become qualified to receive that same rare foot dust127.” The Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava commentators on this verse explain this beautifully: The sole reason why Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa bestowed His causeless mercy upon Kālīya was the spontaneous unmotivated devotion that Kālīyanāga’s wives had for Him. The Supreme Lord’s mercy follows and is obedient to the mercy of the devotee.
Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
This is where Krishna subdued the multi-hooded and venomous serpent known as Kaliya Naga, by ecstatically dancing on the snake’s many hoods until he was completely exhausted and on the verge of death. One can still see the original kadamba-vriksha tree known as Kali-kadamba that Krishna climbed when He jumped into the Yamuna River in order to chastise the serpent Kaliya Naga. Some claim that this is an offshoot of the original kalpa-vriksha tree which is considered non-different from the original. The old sandstone ghatas that were erected in the 16th century by Holkar Roa are still visible.
After Kaliya Naga heard that Garuda, the eagle carrier of Lord Vishnu, could no longer enter Vrindavana due to a curse pronounced on him by Saubhari Muni, Kaliya decided to move his residence to this location where a large lake had formed within the River Yamuna, because he felt he would be safe from any attack by Garuda, who is the mortal enemy of all snakes. Due to Kaliya’s presence, this part of the lake became highly poisonous and all the fish died, any animal that drank the water would die immediately, even birds that by chance flew over the lake would fall down dead after inhaling the toxic fumes. Understanding the great danger to everyone concerned, especially the cows who used to drink water from the river, Krishna decided that He must rid the Yamuna of this poisonous serpent forever.
Climbing a nearby kadamba tree, Krishna jumped into the water and began splashing about to attract the attention of Kaliya Naga. Sure enough, the envious serpent soon arrived on the spot to see who was causing all the commotion. The great snake immediately grabbed hold of Krishna in its powerful coils and attempted to crush His delicate body. Kaliya Naga exerted all his strength but to no avail. Hearing that Krishna had been captured by a venomous snake, all the Vrajavasis ran to the spot including Nanda Maharaja and mother Yashoda. When Krishna saw all the Vrajavasis on the riverbank crying and falling unconscious on the ground due to anxiety that He might be killed, He decided it was time to exhibit His own strength. Immediately freeing Himself from the serpent’s coils, Krishna jumped on the Kaliya’s hoods, and while playing His flute, He began to dance ecstatically from one hood to the next. As Krishna rhythmically stamped His feet down on the serpent’s hoods as He danced, it felt to Kaliya that he was being struck on the head by thunderbolts. Very soon, Kaliya was completely exhausted due to the heavy pounding he received, leaving him battered and bruised with blood oozing from his mouths. The wives of Kaliya Naga known as the naga-patnis, immediately came before Krishna begging Him to spare their poor husband, who appeared to be on the verge of death. After hearing the heartfelt prayers of the naga-patnis, Krishna decided to release the Kaliya serpent, but ordered him to leave the vicinity of the Yamuna River and depart with his wives and children to the ocean, where he could cause no harm to anyone. Kaliya Naga readily agreed to the proposal and after bowing his hoods in submission, quickly left the Yamuna along with his family forever.
In a conversation between Lord Varaha and His consort Bhumi Devi, the Adi-varaha Purana says, “O Vishalakshi, the panditas have visualized many transcendental things in this place. That kadamba tree which is situated on the eastern side of the Kaliya Lake has many scented branches. O Vishalakshi, this charming and auspicious tree blooms throughout the twelve months of the year and brightens the whole world. In the Saura Purana it says, “This sin destroying holy place named Kaliya-tirtha is where Krishna danced on Kaliya’s heads. Whoever takes a bath and worships Vasudeva in this holy place achieves the service of Lord Krishna, which is completely unobtainable by vile persons.”
