Kalyavan was the son of Garga Rishi and the story of his
death is associated with Bhagavan Sri Krishna. He was a Yavana (Greek) as Garga
Rishi had married a Yavana princess.
Garga Rishi was once insulted by Yadavas and he then wished
for a son who would be powerful enough to defeat the Yadavas.
After his birth, Kalyavan propitiated Shiva through intense
penance and gained the boon that he will not be killed by a person born in the
Yadava clan.
Kalayavan then attacked the Yadavas and defeated them.
Sri Krishna and Balarama knew that they will not be able to
kill Kalyavan as they had to respect the boon given by Shiva.
So to kill Kalyavan, Sri Krishna acts as if he is running
away from Kalyavan. The ignorant king chases Sri Krishna who enters the cave in
which King Muchukunda was sleeping.
Story of King Muchukunda
King Muchukunda ruled the earth during the Krita Yuga. He
helped the Devas in the in the battle against Asuras. Then Kartik, son of
Shiva, took over as the general of the army of the Devas. Now Devas decided to
give Muchukunda the much-needed rest.
But the earth had changed so much during the period.
Thousands of years had elapsed and there was no one on earth that King
Muchukunda could relate to. So the King wanted to attain moksha. The Devas
wanted to help Muchukunda for his service. But they were incapable of granting
moksha to the king as it can only be granted by Srihari Vishnu.
The king then said that he was tired and he needed rest. He
asked for a boon that will make him sleep for a very long time. He also wanted
the one who wakes him up to be burnt to ashes. The boon was granted.
The king slept in a cave on earth through Satya Yuga, Treta
Yuga, and Dwapara Yuga.
Story of the Death of Kalyavan
In the dark cave, Kalyavan mistakes King Muchukunda for Sri Krishna and forcibly wakes him up by kicking him. An angry King Muchukunda looked at Kalyavan. Suddenly fire sprang out from the eyes of the king and Kalyavan was converted into a heap of ashes.
Muchukunda who was now fully awake was blessed with the rare
sighting of Srihari Vishnu. Sri Krishna appeared before the king in the form of
Vishnu.
The king was granted moksha for his devotion.