Does Krishna get angry?

See what Sankarshan Das Adhikari has to say about this:

"Krishna becomes very, very angry when His devotees are tortured. He became so angry when Hiranyakasipu was trying to kill Prahlada Maharaja that He appeared in the form of Lord Nrsimhadeva and ripped that rascal apart with His own finger nails.

If a devotee is personally insulted he remains meek and humble. But if the Lord or another devotee is insulted, he becomes angry like fire to chastise the blasphemer. Such anger is divine."

I really love how Krishna gives so much importance to His devotees. Once you join hands with Him, He never lets go.

Jagai and Madai were two very troublesome brothers. They would drink alcohol, trouble everyone in the neighbourhood, rob, disrespect others... any bad quality you name, they personified it. Once Lord Nityananda was  walking along, and happened to come across Jagai and Madai. Enraged by Nityananda, Madai threw a clay pot at Nityananda. His head was hurt and he began to bleed. Despite being hurt, Lord Nityananda was happy, because his blood was washing away the sins of Jagai and Madai. He kept encouraging them to chant. Someone informed Chaitanya about what had happened to Nityananda and Lord Chaitanya became very angry. How could He let someone make His dear Nityananda's head bleed, while He just stood there and did nothing about it? No. The Lord would not just stand there and watch. Lord Chaitanya could not tolerate this offense. He was going to teach them a lesson - He was going to end their lives. But Lord Nityananda pleaded on their behalf. Nityananda tried to pacify Him and asked Him to be merciful. He fell at Chaitanya's feet begging Him to bestow divine love upon Jagai and Madai rather than punishing them. Upon seeing Lord Chaitanya's anger, with discus in hand ready to sever their heads, Jagai and Madai fell at the Lord's feet, asking for His forgiveness. Lord Chaitanya said, "Seek the forgiveness of my dear Nityananda. If he desires, I shall spare your lives." Needless to say, the merciful Nityananda wanted them to be forgiven. The love of God is available for everyone, especially for those who are fallen.

The point of explaining this lila was to show how Krishna gives His devotees importance and does not tolerate their mistreatment. Another important thing it also shows is how even the most fallen and most sinful people can be delivered by the Lord's mercy. The Lord is an inconceivable, immeasurable ocean of mercy.



There are other examples also, where the Lord does not tolerate offenses against His devotees, like in the case of Prahlada and Nrishinga Deva.

Ito Nrishinga, parato Nrishingo, yato yato yami tato Nrishinga

Lord Nrishinga is here, Lord Nrishinga is there, wherever I go Lord Nrishinga is there

Those are the exalted devotee Prahlada's words. Everywhere he went, He saw his loving God. And when his atheistic, power-hungry, demonic father Hiranyakasipu tried to kill Him, the Lord, in His glorious half-man, half-lion form, appeared out of a pillar to protect His devotee and chastise the offender.



Another time, Durvasa Muni cursed Ambarisa Maharaj who was an exalted devotee of the Lord. King Ambarisa was fasting, and he had to break his fast at a certain time. Durvasa Muni had appeared with his disciples and he expressed desire to eat only after bathing. To properly honour his guests, King Ambarisa would eat only after his guests had been satisfied. However, it was time for the King to break his fast but the Muni and his disciples had not yet returned from their bath. After consulting the brahmanas, the King accepted only a little sip of water to break his fast. The Muni saw this is as disrespectful and cursed the King, and he plucked a hair from his own head, and created a demon out of it to attack the King. Krishna then sent His glorious sudarshan chakra to protect His devotee. After vanquishing the demon, the discus began to pursue Durvasa Muni. He was baffled. Why was the sudarshan chakra following the Muni? Krishna couldn't have possibly wanted the Muni dead, could He? The Muni went to Brahma Loka and Shiva Loka seeking protection from the discus, but no one could help Him. Finally, he went to Lord Narayana, who was displeased with the Muni for having offended His devotee. Like in the case of Jagai and Madai, Narayana told the Muni to seek the forgiveness of King Ambarisa. The matter was in his hands, not Vishnu's. Vishnu tells the Muni that He is not independent - He is completely under the control of His loving devotees, and therefore, He could not save the Muni from the chakra. Only King Ambarisa could. Thus the Muni offered obeisances unto the King and begged his forgiveness. King Ambarisa of course willingly forgave the Muni and thus, the Muni was saved from the wrath of Krishna's sudarshan chakra.



So we need to see what special attention the Lord gives those who surrender to Him. We must never forget our humility, and we must never wish to see the affliction of those who offend us, but at the same time we must be firm in faith that the Lord will come to protect us if we are in danger. Through these lilas, we must also understand that we should be very careful not to cause trouble to others. Out of His infinite love and causeless mercy, the Lord personally comes to protect His devotees. Pure devotion has so much power. It can win the fight against demons, against evil influences, against maya, against curses... It will be your shield. The name of Lord Hari will be your shield. All glories to Krishna, the Supreme Lord!