Chapter 48: Maha Vishnu's Avatar as Krishna
It is that Krishna who aproached the humans as a model figure with the best of limbs, features, speech, actions, reflexes and most of all as the Provider, Forgiver, Corrector and Sourcer.Krishna’s birth was also shrouded in mystery. He made an appearance before the parents Vasudeva and Devaki ( Prajapati Sutapa and Prashni in their earlier births) advised them to transfer Him from Mathura to Gokul across the River Yamuna to the place of Nanda and Yashoda as the latter just delivered a baby at the same time but was not aware whether it was a boy or baby due to labour pains.Earlier, the seventh Child of Devaki and Vasudeva was miraculously transferred to Rohini, another wife of Nanda. His maternal uncle Kamsa was afraid of death and killed the previous babies.He tried to smash the head of the eighth child who was Devi Durga Herself. She warned Kamsa from the Sky that the real killer of Kamsa was safe elsewhere. While Gokul of was rejoicing the birth of the boys and the cow-herd Chief Nanda and Yashoda and were busy with Jataka Karma ( cutting the umbilical chords) and the year long Nandothsava celebrations, Kamsa was engaged in a massive search for babies born anew in his kingdom and ordered them to be killed. His investigators reached Gokul Village too and on witnessing the celebrations they confirmed the presence of the new born.The demoness Puthana who was engaged by Kamsa to kill babies visited Gokul and taking the form of a pretty lady entered Nanda’s house. Neither various Gopikas nor Yasoda stopped her, as they were all impressed by her charm and innocent looks. She lifted the Child and put Him on her lap and desired to breast-feed Him. There was deadly poison around her nipple which was sucked by the Lord and even while she was crying for help her real demoniac face and body were twisted and displayed . The entire village got petrified at the shock but the Child was happy and playful. As the Child grew three months old, Nanda’s household was busy performing the ‘Uhthana’ function of lifting the Child from cradle to shoulders. While Brahmanas were reciting Hymns ( Mantras) and performing offerings to Fire God, there was busy activity alround with guests and relatives.The Child was kept in a make-shift bed under the shade of a cart in the court yard, surrounded by Gopikas, children and others. Playfully, the Child lifed one of His soft and tiny legs up as though He was fighting and throwing the cart and indeed the heavy cart was broken into pieces and the mortal remains of a huge monster ( ‘Sakatasur’- a cart demon) sent by Kamsa presented a ghastly sight.In another instance on a day Yashoda kept the Child on he lap when He was a year old and suddenly she realised that the Child was heavy like a mountain and she had to immediately put Him down on the ground. Almost then there was a fearful whirlwind and dust storm and there was darkness all around. The Child was not visible for a while. Gradually, the dust got settled and the entire Village could witness a massive heap of a Demon Trinivartha sent by Kamsa again and the demon’s throat was choked and throttled.
On completion of a year, the two sons were named Balaram and Krishna. As they grew they were displaying charming tricks and playful mischief bringing ecstatic joy not only to the parents but to the entire village especially Gopikas (Maidens) with whom endless pranks were played like stealing butter, embarrassing them in several ways and enchanting them all differenly; in fact the life style of Gokula Village got transformed to that of a heaven and they were all blessed indeed!But there was an underneath devotion and spiritual awareness prevailing among the persons of Gokula and there was even a sub-conscious feeling that the two boys were not ordinary but incarnations of God. While the playmates were all playing once, Balarama who was elder complained to Yashoda that Krishna was eating earth, the mother found that Krishna’s hands were full of dirt and she asked Krishna to open his mouth.Yashoda almost fainted to view the entire Universe in Krishna’s mouth with fleeting visions of the Sky, Earth, mountains, oceans, and the planetary system. She was amazed to realise that Krishna was Vishnu Himself, but too soon she got out of that consciousness created by a transitory illusion ( Maya) and started fondling the Kids as usual. Very often, Krishna looked so innocent that Yashoda discounted the pretty complaints made by Gopis against the lad either out of fondness or envy.As she got fed up one day, she tied Him to a grinding stone kept between twin trees, Yamala and Arjuna in their back yard and started her routine.After a while she heard big noises of falling trees and shrieking screams of Gopikas and there stood two personalities with radiance bowing before the boy Krishna; apparently the two were the opulent and conceited sons of Demi-God of Wealth, Kubera. Narada cursed the sons of Kubera- Nalakubara and Manigriva- to become the twin trees in the backyard of Nanda’s house and await Krishna to release the curse.