on the following conditions:  he will conquer all the kings of the earth, rout the gods in the sky, carry off the earrings of Aditi (the mother of the gods), wear them himself, take the canopy of Indra and place it over his own head and finally, collect together but not marry sixteen thousand one hundred virgin daughters of different kings.  Krishna will then attack him and at Earth’s own behest, will kill Naraka and take to Dwarka all the imprisoned girls.  Earth says, ’Why should I ever tell anyone to kill my own son?’ and is silent.  None the less the boon is granted, the conditions are in due course fulfilled and after a furious encounter with Naraka at his city of Pragjyotisha,[38] Krishna is once again victorious.  During the battle, Muru or Mura, the arch demon, aided by seven sons, strenuously defends the city.  Krishna kills him by cutting off his five heads but has then to resist whole armies of demons assembled by the sons.  When these also have been destroyed, Krishna meets Naraka and after a vicious contest finally kills him, recovering in consequence the earrings of Aditi and the canopy of Indra.  Naraka’s palace is then opened and reveals the bevy of imprisoned girls.  As they gaze on Krishna, their reactions are reminiscent of the cowgirls’.  They implore Krishna to take them away and allow them to lavish on him their impassioned love.  Krishna agrees, chariots are sent for and the vast concourse of passion-stricken girls is transported to Dwarka.  Here Krishna marries them, showering affection on each of the sixteen thousand and one hundred ’and displaying unceasing love for his eight queens.’

Such an incident revives an aspect of Krishna’s early character which up to the present has been somewhat obscured by other events.  Besides slaying demons he has all along been sensitive to feminine needs, arousing in women passionate adoration and at the same time fulfilling the most intense of their physical desires.  It is these qualities which characterize his later career.

Having on one occasion given Rukmini, his first consort, a flower of the heavenly wishing tree,[39] Krishna finds that he has aroused the jealousy of his third consort, Satyabhama.  To please her, he accordingly undertakes to get for her not merely a flower or branch but the tree itself.  He therefore goes to Vaikuntha, the paradise of Vishnu, and takes the opportunity to return the earrings of Aditi and place the canopy over the lord of the gods.  He then sends a message to Indra asking for the tree.  Indra as the tree’s custodian recalls his former discomfiture in Brindaban when Krishna had abolished his worship and venerated the hill Govardhana in his place.  Despite his subsequent surrender to Krishna, and abject worship of him, Indra is still incensed and bluntly refuses.  Krishna then goes to the tree, wounds its guardians and bears the tree away.  Indra is tempted to do battle but realizing Krishna’s superior power calls off his hosts.  Back in Dwarka, Krishna instals the tree in Satyabhama’s palace but returns it to Indra a year later.