Kaliya was a many-headed serpent who dwelt in a pool of the River Yamuna, and whose poison was so potent that the entire river thereabouts was polluted. But when the Supreme Lord appeared at Vrindavan as a cowherd boy, five thousand years ago, He sanctified the Yamuna and drove Kaliya from its waters. At first the mighty serpent thought to slay this mere foolish child, but then the Child began a dance upon the viper's heads, and with every touch of Krishna's feet, a head was crushed. At length, Kaliya repented his evil deeds, and took center of the Lord, realizing how truly blest he was for even the demigods of the highest planets ever crave to be in contact with the dust of the feet of God.
