Krishna climbed a Kadamba tree and jumped into the Yamuna to tackle Kaliya. The tree, which had wilted due to Kaliya’s poison, came back to life at once with leaves and flowers. Periyazhvar says that when Krishna walked, He left on the ground impressions of the conch and discus. Vishnu Purana says that when Krishna entered Brindavana, the place became full of lovely groves. King Bhoja in his Bhoja Campu says that when Rama’s feet touched the stone into which Ahalya had been turned, she not only regained her form, but her rajasic qualities disappeared.
Kaliya’s wives, worried when they saw their husband crushed beneath Krishna’s feet, ran to the Lord and fell at His feet. In their praise of the Lord, they showed how important the touch of His feet was, said Kidambi Narayanan in a discourse. They said to Krishna, “You have punished our husband, and this is right, because You take avataras to establish dharma and to punish the wicked. But through Your punishment, You only do good to the one punished. You have no likes or dislikes when You punish. A father punishes his son so that the son might change his ways. So, the punishment is for the good of the son. This jivatma became a snake due to some sins, and with Your punishment, that curse has been removed. Our husband must have done some good deeds in his previous birth. Otherwise, he would not have been blessed to have Your feet touch his head.
“Even Mahalakshmi did penance for a long time to have the touch of Your feet. How blessed is our husband! Those who have had the touch of Your feet will not be interested in any of the siddhis. Nor will they be interested in svarga, or in Brahma loka. In this birth, our husband has been a snake with tamasic qualities. And yet he has been blessed by You.”
