A long time ago in ancient India, there lived King Ugrasen. He had
two children, prince Kansa and princess Devaki. Prince Kansa was evil
by nature. When Kansa grew up, he imprisoned his own father Ugrasen
and made himself king.
Soon, his sister Devaki was married to King Vasudev. However, after
the wedding, Kansa heard a divine warning from the sky, "O King!
Your sister’s eighth son will grow up to kill you." After
Kansa heard this, he was afraid. Immediately he imprisoned his own
sister Devaki and her husband king Vasudev, and kept them under continuous
watch.
Each time Devaki gave birth to a child in the prison, Kansa arrived
personally and killed the child. When Devaki became pregnant for the
eighth time, King Vasudev’s friend’s (King Nanda’s)
wife Yashoda was also pregnant. The eighth child, Lord Krishna, was
born to queen Devaki at midnight in the prison. As soon as the child
was born, Lord Vishnu appeared in divine form and the prison was filled
with a dazzling light. Both Devaki and Vasudev prayed to Lord Vishnu.
At the same time as Lord Krishna was born in the prison, the divine
energy of Lord Vishnu was born in Gokul, as a baby girl to queen Yashoda.
A divine message came to Vasudev soon after the birth of Lord Krishna, "Take
this child across the Yamuna River to Gokul and exchange him with Yashoda’s
daughter. You will return to the prison before anyone comes to know
about the birth of this child."
Vasudev immediately followed the advice. As he carried the child
in his arms, he found that the prison doors opened automatically and
the guards were put to sleep by God. Vasudev approached the Yamuna
River, which was very turbulent due to fierce winds and rain. However,
as soon as Vasudev reached the riverbank, the river parted and made
way for Vasudev carrying the divine child. Vasudev reached the opposite
bank of the river safely and found all the people of Gokul fast asleep.
He entered the palace of king Nanda and queen Yashoda, and put the
baby Krishna in the place of Yashoda’s baby girl. Then Vasudev
returned to the prison with the baby girl.
As soon as Vasudev laid the baby girl by Devaki’s side, the
prison doors shut automatically. The guards were now awake and were
startled by the cries of the baby girl. The guards ran to Kansa and
announced the birth of the eighth child.
Kansa rushed to execute the child in the prison, remembering the
divine warning that the eighth child would kill him. Devaki appealed, "O
Kansa, this baby is a girl, and not the boy that the divine warning
told you about. How can this child harm you?" However, Kansa ignored
her, snatched the child from her lap, and hurled the child against
the prison wall.
The child did not fall down; instead, she flew up and appeared in
the sky as a Goddess with eight arms, each arm carrying a weapon. She
said, "O evil king! You will gain nothing by killing me. The one
who will destroy you is elsewhere." Then the Goddess disappeared.
Kansa freed Vasudev and Devaki from prison.
Meanwhile, there was great rejoicing in Gokul, hailing the birth
of a son in the household of Nanda. Nanda named the child Krishna.
Entire Gokul wore a festive appearance. The streets were swept clean
and all the houses were decorated with flags and flowers. Cows were
smeared with turmeric, and adorned with peacock feathers and garlands.
All people of Gokul danced in joy and flocked to Nanda’s house
to see baby Krishna and to offer gifts.
Moral: The story of Lord Krishna's birth shows how powerful and loving
God is. Whenever evil in the world like Kansa’s wicked rule becomes
unbearable, God Himself comes to save us in the form of an Incarnation
like Lord Krishna. Against God, not even the mightiest evil can do
anything. Hence, daily we should pray to God and remember Him by chanting*
(repeating) His Name in everything we do – be it getting ready,
eating, walking, playing or going to bed.
To read more stories about Lord
Krishna and His glory, please visit the Children’s Section of
the Sanatan organization’s Weekly
Online for the following Issues: 17,
48, 127 ,
132, 182,
194, 227,
236, 237 and
238. |
