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Krishna then returned to Dwaraka and after having delighted the Yadavas with his sheer presence went on to give the gem back to Satrajit and remove the stain of his honor when he was accused of having stolen it from him. Feeling scared of the repercussions of having falsely blamed Krishna of having stolen the gem, Satrajit gave his beautiful daughter Satyabhama’s hand in marriage to Krishna. This angered her other suitors, Akrura, Kritavarma and Satadhanwan so much that they decided that Satadhanwan would kill Satrajit and take the Syamantaka gem for himself as retribution for him having turned them down as suitors for Satyabhama’s hand.
In the meantime, Krishna received news that the Pandavas had been burned to death in the house of wax. Despite knowing the truth about this incident, Krishna set off to Varnavata to meet Duryodhana and try and assuage Duryodhana’s animosity against his cousins, the Pandavas.
Taking advantage of Krishna’s absence, Satadhanwan killed Satrajit in his sleep and took possession of the gem. Enraged by this cowardly turn of events, Satyabhama immediately took a chariot and left to Varnavata to narrate the events to her husband. She informed Krishna of how Satadhanwan had extracted revenge on her father because he had rejected him and married her to Krishna. The usually placid Krishna was enraged by this turn of events and requested an audience with his brother, Balarama.
“First it was Prasena and then it was Satrajit who had the Syamantaka gem, and now that both of them are dead, the gem rightfully belongs to us now. Therefore dear Balarama, it is now your duty to kill Satadhanwan and reclaim the gem that is ours.”
When Krishna heard of Satadhanwan’s flight, he immediately harnessed his four horses to his chariot and accompanied by Balarama set off in pursuit. By the time Satadhanwan reached Mithila, his mare was exhausted from all the exertion and perished, after which he continued his flight on foot. When Krishna and Balarama reached the place where the mare had died, Krishna asked Balarama to remain in the chariot while he continued his pursuit on foot. He stated that since the soil and ground of the region was bad, the horses would struggle pulling the chariot through this terrain. Balarama agreed and stayed in the chariot.
Krishna did not have to walk for too long before he came across the fleeing Satadhanwan. Using his famous discus, the Sudarsana Chakra, Krishna easily beheaded Satadhanwan from a distance. When Krishna carefully examined the dead warrior’s body, he did not find the gem on his person, as he was unaware of Akrura currently keeping it safe.
He then returned to Balarama and narrated all that had happened. When he learnt of the fact that Satadhanwan had now been killed for no plausible reason, Balarama flew into a rage and scolded Krishna for being so greedy for wealth. He then broke off all ties with Krishna and Dwaraka and went away despite Krishna’s entreaties against these actions. Balarama went to Videha where he was received hospitably by King Janaka and decided to remain there. It was during his stay at Videha that Duryodhana, the Kaurava prince came to him and under his tutelage learnt the art of combat with the mace.
Three years after this incident, when Ugrasena and the other Yadava chiefs were convinced that Krishna did not have the gem with him, went to Videha and appeased Balarama’s anger, and brought him back home.
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