Devaki’s children as soon as they are
born. Kamsa intends to do the same
with Krishna, but when Krishna is born,
a deep sleep falls on all the jailers, the
locked prison doors are miraculously
opened, and Vasudeva is able to spirit
the infant out of the prison to the home
of his foster parents, Nanda and
Yashoda. Vasudeva returns that night,
bearing Yashoda’s newborn baby girl,
who is really Bhadrakali, the Goddess,
in disguise. The next morning Kamsa
kills the child by dashing it against a
stone. From the body arises the Goddess,
who taunts Kamsa, telling him that the
person who will slay him has escaped.
Krishna lives happily at Nanda and
Yashoda’s home. His mythic images
from that early time stress either his per-
sona as the adorable child or unexpected
feats of strength and heroism. As an
infant he is placed under a cart, which
he strikes with his foot and kicks into the
air; he also slays a variety of demon
assassins sent by his uncle Kamsa, most
notably Putana, Keshi, and Trnavarta.
During all these feats his companions
are amazed but never realize that divin-
ity is in their midst. Nor, for that matter,
do his foster parents. In one story
Yashoda looks in Krishna’s mouth when
he has been eating some dirt and sees
the entire universe inside it. Through
the workings of Krishna’s power of illu-
sion (maya), she immediately forgets
the whole incident. The themes of for-
getfulness and hidden divinity are cen-
tral to Krishna’s childhood mythology.
The people in Brajtreat Krishna with
easy familiarity, because they are
unaware of his true identity. Krishna is
said to prefer this sort of natural interac-
tion over all other worship.
As a boy Krishna becomes known for
his mischief, particularly his penchant
for stealing butter from the gopis(milk-
maids), although when he is caught he
can usually manage to charm his way
out of punishment. His adolescence is
marked by two heroic episodes—driving
off the serpent Kaliya, and defeating the
storm-god Indra by holding up Mt.
Govardhan—and by the development of
his persona as a lover. On moonlit,
autumn nights, he plays his flute Murali
on the banks of the Yamuna River.
Hearing its irresistible call, the village
women rush to meet him, whiling away
the night in the circle danceknown as
the ras lila. Although she is not men-
tioned in the earliest texts, Radha
appears as Krishna’s special companion
and consort, symbolizing the relation-
ship between deity and devotee using
the imagery of lover and beloved.
Some parts of Krishna’s mythology
relate episodes from later in his life,
including his return to Mathura, the
slaying of Kamsa, taking his rightful
place as ruler, and marrying Rukmini
and a host of other wives. The earlier
strands of his mythic identity—the king,
hero, and cunning diplomat portrayed
in the Mahabharata—can be tied in
here, to make it seem like the account of
a single life. Some of the most poignant
devotional (bhakti) poetry details the
exchange between Krishna’s female
devotees, the gopis, and Uddhava,
Krishna’s companion sent back fromKrishnaDepiction of Krishna, an incarnation
of the god Vishnu.