Krishna was not without a rival. A man named Paundraka professed that he was the true incarnation of Vishnu, and that Vasudeva (son of Vasudeva) was a pretender. The King of Benares was induced to believe in this false Krishna, and at his request sent an order for the real Krishna to come and do him homage, and at the same time to bring with him his discus and other insignia of office. Krishna did not hesitate. Setting off next day, he destroyed the army of his rival in a moment, and addressing Paundraka himself said, "You desired me by your envoy to resign to you my insignia: I now deliver them to you. Here is my discus, here my mace, here is Garuda; let him mount upon thy standard." The discus did its work, the rival of Krishna was cut to pieces; but, as the Raja of Benares continued to fight, his head was cut off, and fell in the city. The people in their distress cried to Siva, who, in answer, sent a fierce female form to their help. But the discus, obedient to Krishna's command, pursued her, and its radiancy, unfortunately, was such that i t consumed the whole city in which she had hid herself.

When Krishna had finished his work, and had destroyed demons and wicked men, especially Kansa, the time came for him to return to heaven; but, before his departure, owing to a curse pronounced by angry Brahmans, it was necessary that the Yadava race from which he sprang should pass away. This curse was pronounced to avenge an insult offered by some Yadu boys to Narada and other Rishis when engaged with their devotions. These boys, as a joke, dressed up a son of

[paragraph continues] Krishna, named Samba, in woman's clothes, and taking him to the Rishis asked, "What child will this female give birth to?" The Rishis, greatly annoyed, said, "She will bring forth a club which shall crush the whole Yadava race." Accordingly a club came from Samba's body, which King Ugrasena ordered to be ground to powder and thrown into the sea. The dust that fell on the shore became rushes, but a small part of the club, like a lance head, could not be broken: this was thrown into the sea, was swallowed by a fish, which was caught by a fisherman, and made into an arrow point by a huntsman named Jara.