Sri Krishna’s Birth
Sri Krishna’s Birth
“Sambhavami Yuge Yuge” “I will incarnate from time to time for the protection of the good and to punish the bad,” Lord Krishna has said in Bhagawad Gita. This story of His incarnation in the Dwapara yuga is very fascinating.
Ugrasena, the King of Mathura had a son named Kamsa. Kamsa had a sister named Devaki. She was married to Vasudeva, son of Shoorasena. Kamsa had great affection towards his sister. He himself drove the chariot in a procession with the bride and the bridegroom seated in it. The procession was moving along the main roads of the city, when all of a sudden he heard a voice from the skies, “Kamsa, Beware! The eighth child of your sister Devaki will be the cause of your death.”
Hearing this, Kamsa’s happiness vanished and he got down from the chariot roaring with anger. He drew out his sword and came forward to kill his sister. Vasudeva, who was observing all those changes, pleaded with Kamsa to spare his wife’s life and promised that every child born to them will be handed over to Kamsa. Kamsa agreed and imprisoned Vasudeva and Devaki.
Kamsa was wicked and his companions were too like him. They derived pleasure by troubling people so much that, he imprisoned his own father Ugrasena and he himself ascended the throne. With this, atrocities in the kingdom increased.
As Vasudeva and Devaki were in prison, they kept surrendering every child born to them to Kamsa and he killed them mercilessly. When Devaki conceived for the seventh time, Lord Vishnu called ‘Yogamaya’ and ordered her to transfer the child from Devaki’s womb to Rohini’s womb, the first wife of Vasudeva living in Gokula. She did as she was told by Lord Vishnu. Balarama was born to Rohini and Kamsa thought that Devaki had aborted the foetus and kept quiet.
Kamsa’s atrocities increased. The time for Lord to incarnate was drawing near. Lord Vishnu entered the womb of Devaki. At that time a cool breeze blew and there was an atmosphere of festivity all over the world.
As night fell, the sky was overcast with dark clouds and started raining heavily. In the prison of Mathura, Devaki gave birth to her eighth child. What a beautiful child it was! Attractive, blue in colour and with a radiant face. The child had four hands with a Shankha, Chakra, Gada and Padma held in the hands and a golden crown on the head and earrings. Seeing the Lord himself born to them as a child, Vasudeva and Devaki were lost in ecstasy. “We are fortunate to have you as our son, but we are afraid of the wicked Kamsa, you alone can show us the way,” they prayed. The Divine signs disappeared from the baby and they heard a voice from the skies saying, “Take me immediately to the house of Nanda in Gokula. His wife Yashoda has just delivered a baby. Keep me beside her there and bring that baby here.”
Vasudeva placed the baby in a basket and started to leave the jail, his shackles untied themselves, the doors of the jail opened spontaneously and the guards fell unconscious making his passage easy. It was a dark night with a heavy rain. Vasudeva found his way with flashes of lightening from the skies. The child being carried in a basket on the top of his head was protected by the hood of Serpent Adisesha. The flooded Yamuna river also made way for Vasudeva.
Vasudeva entered Nanda’s house in Gokula where everyone was fast asleep and the doors opened spontaneously. He went into Yashoda’s room and replaced the Divine child with the child born to her and carried the female child back to the jail at Mathura. Neither Yashoda nor anyone else was aware of this divine act.
Hearing that a baby girl was born to Devaki, Kamsa came forward to kill the child who was Bhadra Kali. Just as he caught hold of the child to kill, the child sprang up to the sky. She showed her real form and proclaimed that the child born to kill Kamsa was alive and that Kamsa’s end was fast approaching. Saying so, she disappeared in the sky.
Krishna was growing up to be a naughty boy and a source of joy and happiness to the people of Gokula. The story of Sri Krishna is beautifully narrated in “Bhagawata”, by Sage Suka.