Krishna Meets Kalayavana - The Enemy He Refused to Kill

The army stretched to the horizon. Kalayavana—the black Greek—had come to destroy Mathura.

Kalayavana: "Face me, Krishna! They say you're a god. Prove it! Fight me yourself!"

Krishna walked out of the city. Alone. Unarmed.

Krishna: "There you are. I expected armies. I expected tricks. But you come yourself. Perhaps you have honor after all."

Kalayavana: "I have practicality. Why waste soldiers when the outcome is certain?"

Krishna: "Certain? You're certain you'll win?"

Krishna: "I'm certain this will end correctly. Follow me."

Kalayavana: "Running? The great Krishna runs?"

Krishna: "Running implies fear. I'm leading."

Kalayavana followed. He had to—his pride couldn't allow Krishna to simply walk away. Through valleys, across rivers, toward a cave in the mountains.

Krishna entered the cave. Kalayavana followed.

Inside, a man slept. Ancient, powerful, covered in dust from years of dormancy.

Kalayavana: "Who is this?"

Kalayavana demanded.

Krishna: "Muchukunda. A king from ages past. He fought for the gods for so long that when he finally asked to rest, they granted him a boon: whoever wakes him will be burned to ash by his gaze."

Kalayavana laughed.

Kalayavana: "A fairy tale to frighten me?"

Krishna: "A fact to end you. He can't tell us apart in the darkness. He'll wake, see you first, and—"

Kalayavana: "I'll kill him before he looks at me."

Kalayavana kicked the sleeping figure.

Muchukunda woke. His eyes opened.

Fire erupted.

Kalayavana had time for one scream before he was reduced to ash.

Muchukunda blinked, confused.

Krishna: "Who—what— You. You're not the one who woke me."

Kalayavana: "No. I'm the one who brought him to you."

Krishna: "Why?"

Kalayavana: "Because he had a boon that made him unkillable by me or my armies. But boons are specific. Your boon was older. His immunity didn't account for you."

Muchukunda stared at the pile of ash that had been Kalayavana.

Krishna: "You used me as a weapon."

Kalayavana: "I used your boon against his boon. No one was harmed who didn't choose to be here. You've slept for ages. The world has changed. What do you want now that you're awake?"

Krishna: "I want... peace. I fought for so long. Millennia of war for the gods. I'm tired, Krishna. I don't want more conflict."

Kalayavana: "Then go to the forest. Meditate. Seek liberation. You've earned it. And know that your last act before peace was a service. You ended a threat I couldn't end directly. Your sleep saved a kingdom."

Muchukunda walked into the mountains, toward the hermitage that awaited him.

Krishna returned to Mathura.

Krishna: "You defeated Kalayavana? How?"

Krishna: "I didn't defeat him. I maneuvered him into defeating himself. Sometimes the greatest victories require running. Sometimes the best weapon is one you didn't create. And sometimes the most powerful act is stepping aside and letting older forces do what you cannot."

Kalayavana: "That's not how heroes fight."

Krishna: "I'm not a hero. I'm practical. Heroes need to be seen winning. I just need to win. The method is irrelevant."

The method was irrelevant.

The outcome was everything.

And the outcome, as always, was exactly what Krishna had planned.