A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.904

Language: English

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The sage Nārada had foretold to Kansa that a son of Devakī, his brother’s daughter, should destroy him and overthrow his kingdom. To obviate this danger, Kansa kept his cousin Devakī confined in his own palace, and six children that she bore he caused to be put to death. She conceived a seventh time, but the child was an incarnation of Vishnu, and was miraculously preserved by being transferred from the womb of Devakī to that of Rohinī, who was Vasu-deva’s second wife. This child was Bala-rāma. Devakī again conceived, and her eighth child was born at midnight with a very dark skin, whence he was called Krishna. He had a peculiar curl of hair, called srī-vatsa, upon his breast. The gods interposed to preserve the life of this divinely begotten child. The guards of the palace were overpowered with sleep, and bolts and barriers were removed. Vasu-deva took up the child and escaped with him from Mathurā. He repaired to the bank of the Yamunā (Jumna), and, crossing the river, went to the house of Nanda, a cowherd, whose wife, Yasodā, had on that very night been delivered of a female child. Vasu-deva secretly changed the infants, and carried back the daughter of Yasodā to his wife Devakī. Kansa discovered that he had been cheated, and in his wrath he ordered that every male infant that gave signs of vigour should be put to death. Vasu-deva and Devakī, being no longer dangerous, were set at liberty.

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Nanda, alarmed by the order for the massacre, took the young child and removed with Yasodā and with Rohinī and Bala-rāma to Gokula. Here Krishna was brought up, and wandered about in company of his elder brother Bala-rāma. They played many pranks and passed many practical jokes; but they exhibited such marvellous strength and such godlike powers that they soon became famous. Kansa was continually forming schemes for the death of Krishna. The female demon Pūtanā assumed a lovely form, and tried to kill him by suckling him, but the child sucked away her life. Another demon tried to drive a cart over him, but he dashed the cart to pieces. A demon named Trināvartta took the form of a whirlwind and flew off with him, but the child brought the demon to the ground with such violence that he died. One day Krishna broke the vessels of milk and curds and ate the butter, which made Yasodā angry. She fastened a rope round his body, and tied him to a large bowl, but he dragged the bowl away till it caught between two trees and uprooted them. From this feat he got the name of Dāmodara (rope-belly). He had a terrible conflict with the great serpent Kāliya, who lived in the Yamunā, and he compelled him to go away. On one occasion, when the gopīs or milkmaids were bathing, he took away all their clothes and climbed up a tree, and there he remained till the damsels came to him naked to recover them.

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He persuaded Nanda and the cowherds to give up the worship of Indra, and to worship the mountain Govardhana, which sheltered them and their cattle. Incensed at the loss of his offerings, Indra poured down a heavy rain, which would have deluged them, but Krishna lifted up the mountain Govardhana, and held it upon his finger as a shelter for seven days and nights, till Indra felt that he was foiled. From this feat he obtained the name of Govardhana-dhara and Tungīsa. As he had protected the kine, Indra expressed his satisfaction, and gave him the title of Upendra. He was now approaching manhood, and was very handsome. The gopīs were all enamoured of him, and he dispensed his favours very freely. He married seven or eight of them, but his first and favourite wife was Rādhā. At this period of his life he is represented with flowing hair and with a flute in his hand. One of his favourite pastimes was a round dance, called Mandala-nritya or Rāsa-mandala, in which he and Rādhā formed the centre whilst the gopīs danced round them. But his happiness was interrupted by the machinations of Kansa, who sent formidable demons to destroy him—Arishta in the form of a bull, and Kesin in the form of a horse. These attempts having failed, Kansa sent his messenger, Akrūra, to invite Krishna and Balarāma to Mathurā to attend some games, and he formed several plans for their destruction. They accepted the invitation, and went to Mathurā.

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Near the city they found Kansa's washerman engaged in his calling. They threw down some of his clothes, and he addressed them insolently, upon which they killed him, and took such clothes as they liked. In his progress he met Kubjā, a crooked damsel, who gave him some unguent, and he repaid her gift by making her straight. In the games he killed Chānūra, the king's boxer. Afterwards he killed Kansa himself, and replaced Ugrasena on the throne. He remained in Mathurā and studied the science of arms under Sāndīpani. He went down to the infernal regions and brought back his six brothers, whom Kansa had killed, and these, having tasted the milk of their mother, ascended to heaven. During this period he killed a demon named Panchajana, who had attacked the son of his teacher. This demon lived in the sea in the form of a conch-shell, and Krishna afterwards used this shell, called Pānchajanya, as a trumpet. Kansa’s two wives were daughters of Jarā-sandha, king of Magadha. This king assembled his forces and marched against Mathurā to chastise Krishna, but he was defeated. He renewed his attacks eighteen times, and was as often defeated. A new enemy then threatened Krishna, a Yavana or foreigner named Kāla-yavana, and Krishna had been so weakened that he knew he must succumb either to him or to his old enemy the king of Magadha, so he and all his people migrated to the coast of Guzerat, where he built and fortified the city of Dwārakā.

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[The Mahā-bhārata makes no mention of this foreign king, and says that Krishna retired before the eighteenth attack of Jarā-sandha. The foreign king would, therefore, seem to be an invention of the Purānas for saving Krishna’s reputation.]