February 21, 1973 : Auckland

Kurma: As the sankirtana controversy had raged in Australia, another major fight was being conducted many thousands of miles away in India. Srila Prabhupada was pursuing the drawn-out case to secure land for a temple at Juhu Beach, Bombay. The months of legal wrangling and dealings with the owner of the land, the duplicitous Mr. Nair, had exhausted and baffled the local devotees. Not only that, but the worrying, protracted legal case continued to take up an abnormal amount of Prabhupada's time and energy, no matter where he was in the world.

Early in the morning, Giriraja, a young brahmacari assigned to manage the Juhu property, was walking in busy downtown Bombay. He chanced to notice a newspaper headline "A.B. Nair is Dead". Giriraja could scarcely believe it. He ran to the devotees' flat in nearby Colaba and broke the news to the most senior devotee there, who happened to be Balimardana. "Oh, I better phone Prabhupada and inform him," said Balimardana, and he went out to look for a telephone.

Meanwhile in Auckland, Srila Prabhupada was receiving his regular late morning massage from his servant Srutakirti. The phone rang in the office. When Srila Prabhupada was informed, he appeared delighted and spontaneously uttered, "Jaya, Hare Krishna." A little later Srutakirti raised a doubt to Srila Prabhupada: he wondered about the propriety in a devotee expressing pleasure at another's death. Prabhupada explained to Srutakirti that this was not the standard behavior of a Vaishnava. Yet, this case had been unique. Since Mr. Nair had been so demonic in his behavior, Krishna had personally removed him. Later Prabhupada summed-up the issue in a letter to his managers in Bombay:

This morning, Srutakirti received a telephonic message from Balimardana. It is understood that Mr. Nair is dead. So it is good news that Nrsimhadeva has killed a demon like him. Prahlada Maharaja said that even a saintly person becomes pleased when a scorpion or a snake is killed. So if it is a fact that Mr. Nair is dead, it is a matter of great pleasure for all devotees.