KRISHNA

The eighth avatar of Vishnu is Krishna. While he was on earth as Krishna he fought innumerable demons and conquered the hearts of many women and composed the the ‘Bhagwad Gita’ a Hindu treatise on a battlefield.

Krishna was born on the eighth day of the holy month of Shravana in Mathura (North India). Kamsa, the demon had been warned that the eighth child of Devaki and Vasudev would bring about his doom. Kamsa imprisoned the pregnant Devaki along with Vasudev.

The gods conspired, the child was taken to Yashoda and Nand, cowherds who lived in Vrindavan. As a child, Krishna was mischievous, he had a taste for butter and was affectionately called ‘Makhan chor’ (butter thief).

Meanwhile, Kamsa’s demonic spies were carefully combing the countryside to find Krishna. Putana was the first demon sent by Kamsa to kill the baby Krishna. She fed him poison from her breasts, but Krishna suckled out her life and survived.

Krishna grew up to be the darling of Gokul, all the milkmaids fell in love with him when he played his flute. Krishna would marry Rukmini, an incarnation of Lakshmi but before their wedding he would have to rid the earth of more demons.

Rukmini’s brother had promised her hand in marriage to Shishupal, an incarnation of Ravana(a demon). On their wedding day she eloped with Krishna. Before they could marry, Krishna had to kill the demons Shishupal and Jarasanda.

While every turn in his life is marked by a battle against evil, Krishna is most respected for the Bhagawad Gita or the Song of God. He recited the finest piece of literature on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.

As Arjuna’s charioteer, Krishna was the first to see Arjuna overcome by the realisation that he would cause the death of his gurus and relatives. While the armies of the Pandavas and the Kauravas stood facing each other with their arrows drawn, Krishna, recited the Bhagwad Gita, the nucleus of Hindu philosophy.