Prophecy

Expressions researched:
"prophecy" |"prophesying" |"prophetic"

SB Canto 1

SB 1.13.57, Translation and Purport:

O King, he will quit his body, most probably on the fifth day from today. And his body will turn to ashes.

Nārada Muni's prophecy prohibited Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja from going to the place where his uncle was staying because even after quitting the body by his own mystic power, Dhṛtarāṣṭra would not be in need of any funeral ceremony; Nārada Muni indicated that his body by itself would burn to ashes. The perfection of the yoga system is attained by such mystic power. The yogī is able to quit his body by his own choice of time and can attain any planet he desires by turning the present body into ashes by self-made fire.

SB 1.13.58, Purport:

In this fallen age it is not possible for any lady to follow the satī rite as chastely as it was done by Gāndhārī and others in past ages. A chaste wife like Gāndhārī would feel the separation of her husband to be more burning than actual fire. Such a lady can observe the satī rite voluntarily, and there is no criminal force by anyone. When the rite became a formality only and force was applied upon a lady to follow the principle, actually it became criminal, and therefore the ceremony was to be stopped by state law. This prophecy of Nārada Muni to Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira forbade him to go to his widowed aunt.

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

SB 10.1 Summary:

The Third Chapter contains fifty-three verses. This chapter describes the appearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa as He is. The Lord's father and mother, understanding the Lord's appearance, offered prayers. Fearing Kaṁsa, the Lord's father brought the child from Mathurā to Gokula Vṛndāvana. The Fourth Chapter contains forty-six verses, which tell of a prophecy by the goddess Caṇḍikā. After consulting demoniac friends, Kaṁsa began killing all the children born at that time, since he thought this would be to his benefit.

SB 10.1.65-66, Translation:

After the departure of the great saint Nārada, Kaṁsa thought that all the members of the Yadu dynasty were demigods and that any of the children born from the womb of Devakī might be Viṣṇu. Fearing his death, Kaṁsa arrested Vasudeva and Devakī and chained them with iron shackles. Suspecting each of the children to be Viṣṇu, Kaṁsa killed them one after another because of the prophecy that Viṣṇu would kill him.

SB 10.3.22, Translation:

O my Lord, Lord of the demigods, after hearing the prophecy that You would take birth in our home and kill him, this uncivilized Kaṁsa killed so many of Your elder brothers. As soon as he hears from his lieutenants that You have appeared, he will immediately come with weapons to kill You.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 1:

Kaṁsa was the son of Ugrasena, of the Bhoja dynasty. It is said that Kaṁsa was the most demoniac of all the Bhoja dynasty kings. Immediately after hearing the prophecy from the sky, he caught hold of Devakī’s hair and was just about to kill her with his sword. Vasudeva was astonished at Kaṁsa's behavior, and in order to pacify the cruel, shameless brother-in-law, he began to speak as follows, with great reason and evidence. He said, “My dear brother-in-law Kaṁsa, you are the most famous king of the Bhoja dynasty, and people know that you are the greatest warrior and a valiant king. How is it that you are so infuriated that you are prepared to kill a woman who is your own sister at this auspicious time of her marriage? Why should you be so much afraid of death? Death is already born along with your birth. From the very day you took your birth, you began to die."

Krsna Book 1:

Vasudeva, after deliberating on how to save his wife, began to speak to Kaṁsa with great respect, although Kaṁsa was the most sinful man. Sometimes it happens that a most virtuous person like Vasudeva has to flatter a person like Kaṁsa, a most vicious person. That is the way of all diplomatic transactions. Although Vasudeva was deeply aggrieved, he smiled outwardly. He addressed the shameless Kaṁsa in that way because he was so atrocious. Vasudeva said to Kaṁsa, "My dear brother-in-law, please consider that you have no danger from your sister. You are awaiting some danger because you have heard a prophetic voice in the sky. But the danger is to come from the sons of your sister, who are not present now. And who knows? There may or may not be sons in the future. Considering all this, you are safe for the present. Nor is there cause of fear from your sister. If there are any sons born of her, I promise that I shall present all of them to you for necessary action."

Krsna Book 4:

Devakī, on seeing her brother approaching, prayed in a very meek attitude to Kaṁsa: “My dear brother, please do not kill this female child. I promise that this child will be the wife of your son; therefore don’t kill her. You are not to be killed by any female child. That was the prophecy. You are to be killed by a male child, so please do not kill her. My dear brother, you have killed so many of my children who were just born, shining like the sun. That is not your fault. You have been advised by demoniac friends to kill my children. But now I beg you to excuse this girl at least. Let her live as my daughter.”

Krsna Book 4:

After hearing these words, Kaṁsa became very much overwhelmed with fear. Out of pity, he immediately released Vasudeva and Devakī from the bondage of their shackles and very politely began to address them. He said, “My dear sister and brother-in-law, I have acted just like a demon in killing my own nephews—your children—and thereby I have given up all consideration of our intimate relationship. I do not know what will be the result of these envious acts of mine. Probably I shall be sent to the hell where killers of brāhmaṇas go. I am surprised, however, that the celestial prophecy has not come true. It is not only in human society that false propaganda is found. Now it appears that even the celestial denizens speak lies. Because I believed in the words of the celestial denizens, I have committed so many sins by killing the children of my sister. My dear Vasudeva and Devakī, you are both very great souls. I have no instructions to give you, but still I request that you not be sorry for the death of your children."

Krsna Book 6:

Nanda Mahārāja recalled the prophecy of Vasudeva and considered him a great sage and mystic yogī; otherwise, how could he have foretold an incident that happened during his absence from Vṛndāvana? After this, all the residents of Vraja cut the gigantic body of Pūtanā into pieces and piled it up with wood for burning. When all the limbs of Pūtanā’s body were burning, the smoke emanating from the fire created a good aroma of aguru. This aroma was due to her being killed by Kṛṣṇa. This means that the demon Pūtanā was washed of all her sinful activities and attained a celestial body. Here is an example of how the Supreme Personality of Godhead is all-good: Pūtanā came to kill Kṛṣṇa, but because He sucked her milk, she was immediately purified, and her dead body attained a transcendental quality. Her only business was to kill small children; she was only fond of blood. But in spite of being envious of Kṛṣṇa, she attained salvation because she gave her milk to Him to drink. So what can be said of those who are affectionate to Kṛṣṇa in the relationship of mother, who with great love and affection always serve Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Supersoul of every living entity?

Krsna Book 8:

According to astrological calculation, Devakī could not have a female child, although everyone thought that the eighth child of Devakī was female. In this way Garga Muni intimated to Nanda Mahārāja that the female child was born of Yaśodā and that Kṛṣṇa was born of Devakī and they were exchanged. Also, the female child, Durgā, had informed Kaṁsa that the child who would kill him was already born somewhere else. Garga Muni stated, "If I give your child a name and if He fulfills the prophecy of the female child to Kaṁsa, then it may be that the sinful demon will come and kill this child also after the name-giving ceremony. But I do not want to become responsible for all these future calamities."

Krsna Book 10:

Although child Kṛṣṇa was bound up to the wooden mortar, He began to proceed toward the twin trees in order to fulfill the prophecy of His great devotee Nārada. Lord Kṛṣṇa knew that Nārada was His great devotee and that the trees standing before Him as twin arjuna trees were actually the sons of Kuvera. "I must now fulfill the words of My great devotee Nārada," He thought. Then He proceeded through the passage between the two trees. Although He was able to pass through the passage, the large wooden mortar stuck horizontally between the trees. Taking advantage of this, with great strength Lord Kṛṣṇa began to pull the rope, which was tied to the mortar. As soon as He pulled, the two trees, with all their branches and limbs, fell down immediately with a great sound. Out of the broken, fallen trees came two great personalities, shining like blazing fire. All sides became illuminated and beautiful by their presence. The two purified personalities immediately came before child Kṛṣṇa and bowed down to offer their respects and prayers in the following words.

Krsna Book 36:

In actuality, Kaṁsa asked Keśī to go to Vṛndāvana to be killed by Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma and thus get salvation. Then Kaṁsa called for his expert elephant trainers, as well as for the wrestlers Cāṇūra, Muṣṭika, Śala, Tośala, etc., and he told them, “My dear friends, try to hear me attentively. At Nanda Mahārāja's place in Vṛndāvana there are two brothers, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. They are actually two sons of Vasudeva. As you know, I have been destined to be killed by Kṛṣṇa; there is a prophecy to this effect. Now I am requesting you to arrange for a wrestling match. People from different parts of the country will come to see the festival. I will arrange to get those two boys here, and you will try to kill Them in the wrestling arena.”

Krsna Book 49:

Akrūra hinted that although Dhṛtarāṣṭra was ill-treating his nephews, the Pāṇḍavas, they happened to be his subjects. "Even if you treat them not as the owners of the throne but as your subjects, you should impartially think of their welfare as though they were your own sons. But if you do not follow this principle and act in just the opposite way, you will be unpopular among your subjects, and in the next life you will have to live in a hellish condition. I therefore hope you will treat your sons and the sons of Pāṇḍu equally." Akrūra hinted that if Dhṛtarāṣṭra did not treat the Pāṇḍavas and his sons as equals, surely there would be a fight between the two camps of cousins. Since the cause of the Pāṇḍavas was just, they would come out victorious, and the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra would be killed. This was a prophecy told by Akrūra to Dhṛtarāṣṭra.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 18.67 -- Ahmedabad, December 10, 1972:

So there are persons abhyasūyati, envious of Kṛṣṇa. Envious. Who is envious of Kṛṣṇa? Demons. Just like Kaṁsa. Always making plan, how to kill Kṛṣṇa. As soon as he heard that his eighth son of his sister Devakī would kill him, as soon as he heard this prophecy, he become a determined enemy of Kṛṣṇa. He was always thinking in a different way. Prātikūlyena. Ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ prātikūlyaṁ vivarjanam. This devotional service means to accept favorable and reject unfavorable. This is called śaraṇāgati. Surrender means to accept favorable things, how I can make progress towards Kṛṣṇa, and prātikūlya, pratikūla means rejecting unfavorable things which are not very congenial for my progress to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Arrival Addresses and Talks

Arrival Lecture -- Mayapur, September 27, 1974:

So Śrīman Jayapatāka Mahārāja, Bhavānanda Mahārāja and devotees, I thank you very much for keeping this temple, Māyāpura-candrodaya Mandira, so nicely cleansed, and it appears everything is going nicely. So it was the desire of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura that Europeans and Americans would come here and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. That prophecy is now being fulfilled, and that is my satisfaction. I tried my little bit to fulfill the desire of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. At my old age of seventy years, I just... It was a gambling also. I simply thought that "This was the desire..." Of course, my Guru Mahārāja, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, he also asked me to do this. Anyway, at least there is a place now when..., where these Europeans and Americans may come and live peacefully, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, and advance in spiritual understanding.

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Interview with LA Times Reporter About Moon Trip -- December 26, 1968, Los Angeles:

Reporter: Now, in a way, when you talk about this, you're getting into an area which to outsiders would be interpreted as a type of prophecy since...

Prabhupāda: No, it is not prophecy. We have got this description in the Vedic literature. We are speaking on the strength of authority of Vedas. We are not prophesying.

Reporter: Speaking on the strength of...

Prabhupāda: Of the Vedic literature.

Hayagrīva: V-e-d-i-c.

Reporter: Oh, on Vedic literature.

Prabhupāda: Yes. We don't talk anything which is not authorized by the Vedic literature. That is our process.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Gurudasa -- Los Angeles 6 May, 1970:

I beg to thank you for your letter dated 30th April, 1970, and I have noted the contents carefully. I have also received the list of all the cities and towns in England, and thank you very much. It is my desire that you open a center in each and every one of these places, and that will help to fulfill the prophecy of Lord Caitanya that His Holy Name will be sung in every city and town all over the globe.

Letter to Govinda Maharaja -- Calcutta 22 September, 1970:

Regarding propagating the Name of Sri Mayapur as Birthplace of Lord Caitanya, it is going on regularly in our different literatures and books. If you kindly take the trouble of coming here conveniently, I can show you how we are giving publicity to the Birthsite of Lord Caitanya. Perhaps you know that I begged from His Holiness Sripada Tirtha Maharaja a little piece of land at Mayapur for constructing a home for my Western disciples, but he refused the proposal. Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura wanted that the American and European devotees would come to Mayapur and the prophecy is now fulfilled. Unfortunately they are loitering in the streets of Calcutta without having a suitable place at Mayapur. Do you think it is alright?

1972 Correspondence

Letter to Gaurasundara -- Los Angeles 26 August, 1972:

Where have you got this idea to retire and simply translate books? That is not in our line. My Spiritual Master has given me the instruction to spread this movement all over the world and you are my good disciples, are helping me do this. Without your good help I could not have done anything, so practically you can take all the credit for spreading this Krsna Consciousness movement and fulfilling the prophecy of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. If there is some incident and I claim that no one is cooperating with me or no one will work with me, that is my defect, not theirs. The Vaisnava devotee must think like this. We should not find fault with others and criticize and go away, that is not the Vaisnava way. Better we should always be willing to offer all respects to others and consider them as our superiors always.