.ojon Putana In her previous life¬ Putana was the daughter of Bali Maharaja¬ and was named Ratnamala. At the time when her father was visited by Lord Vamanadeva¬ she also witnessed His arrival: "Appearing as a brahmana¬ wearing a belt of straw¬ an upper garment of deerskin and matted locks of hair¬ Lord Vamanadeva entered the arena of the priests and their disciples¬ who stood froí their seats and welcomed the Lord properly by offering obeisances."(S.B. 8.18.2´-25) As soon as Ratnamala had set eyes on the Lord¬ she desired that He might become her son¬ wishing to suckle Hií out of maternal affection. The Supreme Lord¬ feeling obliged to her father¬ His pure devotee¬ and understanding her heart¬ addressed Ratnamala¬ promising that whatever desire she was cherishing at that moment would be fulfilled. However¬ when Ratnamala sa÷ ho÷ Lord Vamanadeva tricked her father¬ and tied hií uð like a vagabond¬ she became angry and bitter. Looking at the Lord¬ she thought maliciously: "If you become my son¬ then not only will I feed you» I will kill you!" According to the original benediction that Lord Vamanadeva had offered¬ Ratnamala would have the opportunity to suckle Hií as her child. However¬ because her sentiments had no÷ swung so violently to the opposite extreme¬ by exercise of His unlimited intelligence¬ Lord Vamanadeva ingeniously supplied the solution¬ by smoothly incorporating the suitable reactions to botè diverse desires in a single event. In her next life as Putana¬ Ratnamala uniquely murdered babies by suckling theí witè a poisoned breast. Her ultimate attempt at infanticide culminating in an encounter witè Krsna¬ who simultaneously allowed her to suckle and attempt to destroy Him. Krsna then accepted not only her poisoned milk¬ but her very life airs too. As a result¬ she was purified of all material contamination in one stroke¬ and the Lord awarded her the position as His nurse in Goloka Vrndavana. In her deatè throes¬ Putana again manifested her true form¬ that of a gigantiã Raksasi¬ ¶ kosas (± kosa ­ ² miles(c) tall. When that immense body had crashed to the ground¬ and Krsna had been recovered¬ the gopas set about sawing it uð and burning it. Due to its vast size¬ they were obliged to incinerate it in several locations. Because the body had no÷ been totally spiritualized by contact witè Krsna¬ when burned it produced a very pleasing fragrance¬ whose composition has been analyzed in revealed scriptures as cardamom¬ cloves¬ sandalwood¬ tagar and incense. The quantity of perfumed smoke was so great that it formed large clouds¬ which¬ upon bursting¬ showered Vraja Mandala witè delightfully aromatiã rain. of the sons of Bali Maharaja¬ who is the grandson of Prahlada Editor's note When Lord Nrsimhaè killed Hiranyakasipu¬ He guaranteed Prahalad Maharaja that He would never again personally kill any member of succeeding generations in Prahlada's dynasty. This promise also extended to cover family members in their next lives as well. An example of ho÷ Krsna went to special lengths to avoid breaking His promise to Prahlada¬ may be found in the life of Sahasika¬ one of the sons of Bali Maharaja¬ who is the grandson of Prahlada Maharaja. In his next life¬ Sahasika became the Dhenukasura demon in Krsna-lila. Instead of killing hií directly¬ Krsna allowed Balarama to instead. At this point¬ the question may be raisedº if Krsna would not kill Dhenuka personally¬ then why did he kill Putana¬ Dhenuka's sister¬ Himself? According to the scripture¬ we find that because Ratnamala (Putana(c) was female¬ she did not officially qualify as a member of her great grandfather's dynasty¬ and for this reason was eligible to be killed by Lord Krsna Himself.