– The historical hero of India

Shrii Krishna beyond any doubt, is the hero of ancient Indian history and is seen as the manifestation of the finest elements of human life. There is no surprise, then, that he is a celebrated figure not only in Indian religious canons, but also in historical texts, art, literature and culture.

Due to obvious reasons, he attained the status of a Deity and devotees hold him in high regard. Nevertheless, he is also considered a deity who is more human than any other deity and thus, people confide everything in him, believing him to be a friend, relative, philosopher and guide.

The word Krishna is a derivative of the root kRsh meaning ‘to attract’. Thus ‘Krishna’ means ‘the attractive one’. Other meanings of the word are ‘black’, ‘dark’, ‘dark blue’, etc. Shrii-Krishna had a dark, yet attractive complexion and hence was named so.

 

– Birth and childhood

The account of his birth appearing in Mahabharata states that he was born in the Yaadawa dynasty to the royal couple Wasudewa & Dewakii who were held in prison at Mathuraa by Dewakii’s cruel brother Kansa, who was cursed that he would be slain by Dewaki’s eighth son. Kansa was successful in confiscating and killing six sons of Dewakii. Her seventh fetus, transplanted to another lady and named Balaraama after birth, was sent to Gokula to become the elder brother of Shri-Krishna.

Dewakii’s eighth son was Shri-Krishna, and during his birth, because he was a divine incarnation, the parents were dramatically set free and able to send the divine child to Gokula again, to the house of a cowherd couple Nand and Yashodaa

Shri-krishna was born on the aSTamii ‘eighth day’ of the dark half of the (shraawaNa) month as per the Hindu Shaka calendar and hence this day is called Shrii-Krishna-JanmaaStamii and is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Shri-Krishna. Because he spent his childhood in the Gokula village, it is also known as ‘

Though a foster mother, Yashodaa raised him with more affection, love and care than any real mother would do and hence she, more than Dewaki, is popular as Krishna’s mother.

Shrikrishna is said to have performed various Liilaa ‘pursuits’ during his childhood in Gokula and these have been the subject of extensive poetry and literature. Most popular of those are:

1. Notoriously troubling Yashodaa and testing her affection & love.
2. Lobbying along with the cowherd boys and playing pranks on nasty villagers of Gokula.
3. Slaying the demons and demonesses sent by Kansa.
4. Playing pranks on young milkmaids in early childhood.
5. Rescuing the village and villagers from natural calamities and a few enemies, notably the subjugation of the Kaaliyaa serpent and lifting the Gowardhana mountain.
6. Stealing milk-products from the houses of milkmen along with his gang of cowboys in order to eradicate the unjust export of milk-products to Mathuraa He is called  Nawaniitachaura ‘butter-thief’ since then.
7. Getting romantically involved with the milkmaids girls) during adolescence; especially his infamous affair with Raadhaa a beautiful milkmaid, which lead to her name being permanently attached to his as ‘Raadhaa-Krishna’ etc.
8. Shrikrishna was an achieved flautist and his music not only mesmerized the cowherd boys and girls who danced with him, but also the cattle and other ferocious beasts, who would stand still enchanted with his melodies. It is rare to find an image or a motif of Shrikrishna without the flute that he played. His divine dance Raasa-Liilaa along with the milkmaids, is the source of most of the classical and other dances of India.

– The noble prince

Shrii Krishna grew up along with his brother Balaraama as a valorous and noble prince. He later studied at the hermitage of sage Saandiipani and returned to Mathuraa. There he slew Kansa and his assistant Chaanuura and freed his parents from prison and reinstated his grandfather as the King of Mathuraa. That is why he is called Kansachaanuuramardana . Later on he established an independent kingdom of Yaadawas with Dwaarakaa as its capital.

He became a close friend of his maternal cousins Paandawas and much of his later life was spent with them, helping them regain their kingdom from Kaurawas. Arjuna the third paandawa brother, whom he affectionately called (Paartha), was his closest friend. Arjuna considered Shrikrishna his close confidant, philosopher and guide. Shrikrishna chose to help Arjuna during the war by becoming his saarathi ‘charioteer’ and acquired the epithet Paarthasaarathi During the war, when Arjuna saw his own grandparents, cousins, relatives, preceptors, mates and elders facing him as enemy, he was intimidated by the thought of slaying them and partaking into a sinful act. This is when Shrikrishna advised Arjuna about ethics of warrior-ship, making him realize that as a warrior, it was his primary duty to slay even the closest person for establishing justice and truth.

– The author of Bhagawad-Giita

The dialogue between Shrikrishna and Arjuna which took place at the outset of war on the battlefield, compiled in about 700 verses, became famous later as Bhagawad-Giitaa and is considered to be the essence of all branches of orthodox Indian philosophy. The authorship of Bhagawadgiitaa is what gives Shrikrishna an unprecedented status in Indian history and he is termed as the ‘Supreme’ among all humans beings. This philosophical text has been translated, commented,
re-commented and religiously followed by not only Indian but also other scholars and philosophers of the world and even atheists and non-believers consider it to be a work of social significance.

All these facts contributed to Krishna being envisioned as an avataara ‘incarnation’ and Bhaagawata Puraana asserts that Krishna is the 8th incarnation of Shri Vishnu. One of the verses in Bhagawad-giita translates as “whenever there is a decline of righteousness and injustice reaches the epitome, I manifest myself. For the protection of the noble and destruction of evil ones, I will be born on this earth in every era.”

Shrikrishna-Janmaashtamii, thus, is an important Hindu festival and is celebrated with equal importance among all the sects of India. On the day before the Ashtamii, people observe fast . In the evening an idol of child Krishna is placed in a decorated cradle and worshipped as per prevalent customs. At midnight the birth of child Krishna is imitated and lullabies and other devotional songs are sung while the cradle is swung, as if putting the baby to sleep. Sweets are distributed in order to celebrate the birth of the divine baby and break fast.

On the Janmashtamii day, in northern India, ladies perform dances resembling those performed by Yashodaa’s mates and other milkmaids in Gokula celebrating Shrikrishna’s birth as well as Raasa-Liila performed by Shrikirshna.

In southern India, the Janmaashtamii is celebrated with a special sport named Dahi Handi, meaning ‘a pot of curd’ An earthen pot filled with curd & milk is positioned high and groups of young boys (recently, girls also) called Gowinda create a human pyramid with the topmost guy attempting to break the pot. Successful Gowinda groups are given awards and rewards. This is an imitation of Shrikrishna’s
butter-theft.

We offer worship to lord Krishna through the following verse taken from the Baala-Mukunda-Stotram ‘Hymn of Child Krishna’ composed by Saint Bilwamangalaachaarya

Note: The above verse does not contain any Sandhi or compound and hence is very easy to recite. Moreover, most of the words end in the (m) sound, which is a nasal sound. This sound is believed to create positive vibrations in one’s mind, energize the brain and awaken conscience of people. Hence, repeated recitation of this verse will help people gain material and spiritual gains.