After Lord Krishna had killed Kansa, He made his grandfather, Ugrasena, the king of Mathura. Then, Lord Krishna and Balarama went through a sacred thread ceremony called Yajna-pavitra. Earlier, all students lived and learnt in gurukul. So, Lord Krishna and Balarama, too, left for the gurukul of Sage Sandipani, who lived in Kashi.
Lord Krishna and Balarama had killed many demons and earned universal fame. Even then, they followed their guru’s commands obediently and humbly. They helped Guru Mata, Sage Sandipani’s wife, cook food in the ashram. Sage Sandipani was pleased with their humility, modesty and intelligence. Lord Krishna and Balarama read spiritual Vedas—like the Rig, Yajur, Sama and the Atharva, the Upanishads, and gained worldly knowledge—like kalpa, jyotisa or astrology, and vyakarana or grammar. They also became proficient in archery, politics and sixty-four arts in sixty-four days.
Sudama, the son of a poor Brahmin, studied in Sage Sandipani’s gurukul along with Lord Krishna and Balarama. Over the time, Lord Krishna and Sudama became inseparable friends.
One day, Guru Mata asked Lord Krishna and Sudama to bring some wood from the forest. While they were collecting wood, dark clouds spread in the sky and it started raining heavily. Lord Krishna and Sudama took shelter on the branches of a huge tree.
“Sudama, I am feeling very hungry,” Krishna complained but Sudama, who was on the branch above Him, did not answer. For, he was busy eating the puffed rice that Guru Mata had packed for them both. When Krishna climbed up the branch and caught Sudama eating red-handed, He said jokingly, “Sudama, you owe Me this puffed rice. You will give it to Me later.” Soon, it stopped raining and they both went back, forgetting the incident.
In earlier days, there was a practice called gurudakshina. After completing their education, students would make a token offering of gratitude to their guru. This offering was called gurudakshina.
When their education was over, Lord Krishna and Balarama went to Sage Sandipani. Standing humbly with bowed heads, they asked, “Guru Dev! It is time for us to return home. Kindly tell us what we may offer to you as gurudakshina.”
Sage Sandipani said, “Krishna and Balarama! It was my good fortune to be a guru to the ideal students like You. By associating with You, all my material desires have vanished. But I have a longing for my son who died many years ago.
He had been playing on the beach, and somehow he was drowned.
I want You to resurrect him and bring him back to me.” Lord Krishna and Balarama went to bring his son back.
They went to the ocean shores of Prabhasa and ordered the god of the ocean to give back Sage Sandipani’s son. The ocean replied, “The boy is not in my grip. He was taken away by demon Shankha. He has a holy conch-shell named Panchajanya and he lives inside it.”
Lord Krishna entered the ocean and killed Shankhasur, but He did not find the boy there. So, He took the conch-shell and went to Yamapura, the kingdom of Yamaraja. When Krishna blew the conch, Yamaraja welcomed him. When He ordered the boy’s return, Yamaraja returned Sage Sandipani’s son. Once he was brought back to life, Lord Krishna and Balarama handed the boy over to their Guru Sage Sandipani. From that day onwards, Lord Krishna carried the conch-shell with Him. He even blew conch-shell, Panchajanya along with Arjun’s conch-shell, Devdatta, signalling the start of the war of the Mahabharata.
