Lord Krishna is a beloved figure in Hinduism, especially known for his role in the Bhagavad Gita. He's considered an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Often depicted as a young boy playing the flute or a baby eating butter, Krishna has many stories associated with him.
Krishna's birth story is intriguing. He was born in prison to his parents, Vasudeva and Devaki. To protect him from his cruel uncle, Kansa, who planned to kill him, Krishna was secretly taken away from the prison and raised by Nanda and Yashoda in a village called Gokula.
Krishna's childhood tales are delightful. He's known for his mischievous adventures, such as stealing butter and playing pranks on villagers. These stories captivate the hearts of devotees and are cherished in Hindu culture.
1. Krishna lifting Govardhan Hill
Once, in the village of Vrindavana, the people were getting ready to worship Lord Indra, the god of rain. They wanted to please him so that he would bless them with plentiful rainfall. However, young Krishna thought differently.
Krishna went to his father, Nanda, who was the leader of the village, and suggested that they should worship Govardhan Hill instead. He explained that the hill provided them with clean water, fresh air, and healing herbs, deserving their gratitude more than Lord Indra.
Convinced by Krishna's words, Nanda and the village elders decided to worship Govardhan Hill. This angered Lord Indra, who decided to teach them a lesson. He sent a massive storm to destroy the village. In a remarkable feat, Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill with just one finger, providing shelter to all the villagers and animals.
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As the storm raged on, everyone remained safe beneath the hill until the rain stopped. Realizing his mistake, Lord Indra apologized to Krishna for his mistake and acknowledged Krishna's divine nature.
2. Little Krisha defeats Putana
Kansa, an evil king, ordered a demoness named Putana to kill all the babies in Gokul. Putana had the ability to change her appearance, so she transformed into a beautiful woman and filled her breasts with poison. Sneaking into homes, she cruelly took the lives of innocent infants.
When she reached Nandaraja's place, she saw baby Krishna. Disguised as a caring woman, she picked him up to feed him poisoned milk. However, Krishna, even as a baby, possessed divine powers. Instead of being harmed, he drew the poison out of Putana, causing her demise.
As Putana died, she reverted to her original, enormous demoness form. People discovered her lifeless body with baby Krishna unharmed on top. Surprisingly, despite her evil intentions, Putana's soul found liberation because she unknowingly provided Lord Krishna with her breast milk.
3. Krishna defeats Snake demon Aghasura
Once upon a time, Krishna and his friends were playing near a massive cave. Little did they know, the cave was actually the demon Aghasura, Putana's brother, in the form of a gigantic snake. The cave's entrance was his open mouth, emitting hot air and a fishy smell.
Curiosity got the better of the boys, and they entered the cave. Krishna, aware of the danger, followed them inside. Aghasura, the demon, had been patiently waiting for this moment. As soon as Krishna entered, the demon snapped his jaws shut.
Here's where Krishna's divine powers came into play. Instead of being consumed, Krishna expanded his body, confronting the demon from within. With this extraordinary move, he choked Aghasura to death, saving his friends. In this act of grace, Krishna not only protected his companions but also granted liberation to the demon Aghasura.
4. Krishna ensuring the victory of Pandavas
Before the big Mahabharata war, Duryodhana wanted to do a special ceremony, called a yagna, to make sure he would win. He asked Sahdev, a skilled astrologer, for the best date. Even though Duryodhana was their enemy, Sahdev helped him and suggested doing the yagna on the new moon day.
This decision made the Pandavas and Krishna unhappy because a yagna on the new moon day was believed to ensure Duryodhana's victory. To prevent this, Krishna started performing a ritual called Pitru tarpana a day before the new moon.
When the sun and the moon heard about this, they questioned Krishna about why he was doing the ritual a day early. Krishna cleverly replied that the new moon day was when the sun and the moon came together, and they were already in front of him, so it was the new moon day. Due to Krishna's smart move, Duryodhana couldn't perform the yagna on the correct day, and Krishna ensured that he wouldn't win the war.
5. Krishna and his 16108 wives
Krishna, the revered deity, had eight principal queen consorts known as the Ashtabharya(s), including Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jambavati, Kalindi, Mitravinda, Nagnajiti, Bhadra, and Lakshmana. In addition to these queens, Krishna had 16,000 or 16,100 junior wives.
The tale unfolds with the demon Narakasura, the son of Mother Earth, who wickedly kidnapped 16,100 women and imprisoned them. Hearing of this injustice, Krishna, accompanied by his wife Sathyabhama, confronted the demon in a fierce battle. Many demons were defeated, and in the end, Narakasura met his demise at the hands of Sathyabhama.
A peculiar curse lingered over Narakasura, decreeing that only his mother could bring about his end. Sathyabhama was believed to be the reincarnation of Mother Earth and thus fulfilled this destiny by vanquishing the demon.
After the intense battle, Krishna, in his compassionate nature, asked the 16,100 captive women to return to their homes. However, the women hesitated, fearing societal rejection due to their time in captivity. When Krishna inquired about their wishes, they expressed a collective desire to marry him.
In response, Krishna, displaying his divine powers, expanded himself into numerous forms and simultaneously married all 16,100 women at an auspicious time. To ensure their happiness, he built beautiful homes for each of his brides, creating a unique and blissful life for each one. Thus, Krishna's act of compassion and divine intervention brought joy and liberation to the women who had endured captivity.
6. Lord Krishna reaching Vaikund
Lord Krishna's life was marked by the culmination of several curses, the first of which originated from a previous life during the time of Lord Rama. In that life, Lord Rama had killed Bali, who had not committed any deceitful act, from a hidden spot in a tree. Acknowledging his mistake, Lord Rama granted Bali the right to kill him in their next life. This laid the foundation for a series of interconnected events.
Another curse came from Sage Durvasa, who had requested Krishna to apply kheer (a sweet dish) all over his body. However, Krishna omitted applying it on his feet. In a fit of anger, Durvasa cursed him, foretelling that Krishna would always have weak and unprotected legs.
The aftermath of the Kurukshetra battle brought yet another curse upon Krishna. Gandhari, witnessing the tragic death of her sons, blamed Krishna for not preventing the war's devastation. In response to her anger, she cursed him and his entire Yadava clan, prophesying their demise after 36 years. Krishna, with a calm demeanour, accepted the curse, foreseeing a time when the Yadava clan would face undisciplined and unruly behaviour.
As the foretold time approached, Krishna's brother Balarama and the entire Yadava clan met their end. Consumed with grief, Krishna, now alone in the forest, faced the final moment of his life. Fate took a poignant turn as he was unknowingly struck by an arrow from a hunter named Jara. Jara, the reincarnation of Bali from a previous birth, mistook Krishna's leg for a deer. The arrow, aimed at his weak and unprotected leg due to Durvasa's curse, became the instrument of Krishna's departure from the mortal world.
In the intricate web of curses, the story of Lord Krishna teaches a profound lesson – the inescapability of karma. Each curse, rooted in past actions and choices, contributed to the unfolding of Krishna's destiny, emphasizing the interconnected nature of life's events and the consequences of one's deeds.
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