The Childhood of Krishna

Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu, was born in a prison cell to Devaki and Vasudeva while the tyrant Kamsa held them captive. Kamsa had been warned by prophecy that Devaki's eighth child would destroy him, and he had killed her first seven infants. But on the night of Krishna's birth, the prison guards fell into enchanted sleep, the chains fell from Vasudeva's wrists, and the doors swung open of their own accord.

Vasudeva carried the newborn through the storming night to the village of Gokul, crossing the flooded Yamuna River while the divine serpent Shesha sheltered them with his hood. There, he exchanged Krishna for the newborn daughter of Nanda and Yashoda, simple cowherds who would raise the god as their own son. When Kamsa came to kill the child, the baby girl transformed into the goddess Yogamaya and ascended to heaven, warning that his destroyer had escaped.

In a simple cowherd's home, the Lord of the Universe learned to crawl, to walk, to speak. The sustainer of all creation delighted in stealing butter from earthen pots.

Krishna grew among the gopas and gopis, the cowherds and milkmaids of Vrindavan. He was beautiful, charming, mischievous, and utterly irresistible. His favorite sport was stealing freshly churned butter from the village homes, earning him the name Makhan Chor, the Butter Thief.

The village women would complain to Yashoda about her son's antics. They told her he untied their calves so they would drink all the milk. He broke their butter pots and shared the stolen butter with the monkeys. He pinched the younger children and denied everything with butter still smeared on his face. Yashoda would scold him, but his innocent smile would melt her heart every time.

One day, the gopis bound him to a heavy stone mortar as punishment for his thieving. Krishna simply dragged the mortar between two trees and toppled them, freeing two celestial beings who had been cursed to take tree form. Such was the divine play, the lila, of the Lord who chose to be a village child.

Kamsa, learning that Krishna had survived, sent demon after demon to destroy him. The demoness Putana came disguised as a beautiful woman offering to nurse the infant, but her breasts were smeared with poison. Krishna drank not just the poisoned milk but her life force as well, granting her liberation through her contact with the divine.

The whirlwind demon Trinavarta tried to carry Krishna away, but the baby became so heavy that the demon crashed to earth and died. The serpent Aghasura opened his enormous mouth, disguising it as a cave, but Krishna expanded within his body until the serpent burst. Each assassination attempt became another opportunity for the Lord to display his power while maintaining the appearance of a child at play.

The most remarkable revelation came when Krishna was caught eating dirt. His playmates ran to Yashoda, reporting that Krishna was eating mud again. She demanded he open his mouth, preparing to scold him.

When Krishna opened his mouth, Yashoda saw within it the entire universe: the sun, moon, and stars, the mountains and oceans, all the continents, all living beings, time itself, nature, the elements, and the cosmic principle. She saw Vrindavan, and herself looking into her son's mouth. She saw infinity contained within the child she had raised.

For a moment, Yashoda understood that her son was Vishnu himself. But then Krishna's maya, his divine power of illusion, covered her memory, and she saw only a small boy with a dirty mouth. She kissed his head and sent him out to play.

What mother can hold the Universe on her lap? What village can contain the Infinite? Yet Krishna chose this humble form, finding joy in stealing butter and playing with his friends.

As Krishna grew, his exploits only increased. When the villagers prepared sacrifices for Indra, king of the gods, Krishna convinced them to worship the nearby Govardhana mountain instead, which provided their cattle with pasture. Indra, enraged at being denied his offerings, sent terrible storms to destroy Vrindavan.

Krishna simply lifted the entire mountain on his little finger and held it aloft like an umbrella. For seven days and seven nights, while Indra's worst storms raged, the people and animals of Vrindavan sheltered beneath the mountain. At last, Indra recognized Krishna's divinity and descended to offer worship.

The child of Vrindavan, the butter thief, the prankster who teased the village women, was all along the Supreme Lord, playing the role of a human child for the sheer joy of it, blessing all who participated in his divine play.