Who Is Lord Krishna ?

“    The Supreme Being in His form as Sri Krishna appeared on this planet 5,000 years ago and performed His pastimes for 125 earthly years before returning to His spiritual abode.

             The Vishnu Purana (Book Four, Chapter Twenty-four) establishes that the age of Kali-yuga began when Lord Krishna left this world in 3102 BC. ( almost 5000 years back )

There are many mentions in the Vedic literatures which narrate how Sri Krishna engages in loving activities with His friends and relatives when He appears in this world, and how He performs amazing feats which thrill and astonish everyone, both while on this planet and in His spiritual abode.

                                    However, He brings His spiritual domain and His numerous pure devotees with Him when He descends into this world. Descriptions of the many activities and pastimes which go on, in the spiritual world are found in various verses in,

• Srimad-Bhagavatam, 
• Vishnu Purana,
• Mahabharata,
• Caitanya-caritamrta,
• Sanatana Goswami’s Brihat Bhagavatamritam, and many others, which explain the many levels and unlimited nature of the spiritual realm.

Indeed, the body of the Lord is described as full of eternal bliss, truth, knowledge, the most dazzling splendour, and source of all that exists.

            It is described that when the Lord appeared on this planet in the 19th and 20th incarnations, He advented Himself as Lord Balarama and Lord Krishna in the family of Vrishni [the Yadu dynasty], and by so doing He removed the burden of the world. ( Srimad Bhagavatam – १.३.२३ )

            The story of Lord Krishna’s birth is a unique narrative, as told in the 10th Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. About 5,000 years ago when the earth was overburdened by the military might of the demoniac who had taken the forms of rulers and kings, the spirit of mother earth took the shape of a cow and approached Lord Brahma to seek relief. Concerned with the situation on earth, Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva and other demigods went to the shore of the ocean of milk.

Within that ocean is an island which is the residence of Lord Vishnu (expansion of Sri Krishna).

After mentally offering prayers to Lord Vishnu, Brahma could understand the advice the Lord gave him.

This was that He would soon appear on the surface of the earth in order to mitigate the burden of the demoniac kings.

Therefore, the demigods and their wives should appear in the Yadu dynasty in order to serve as servants of Lord Krishna and increase the size of that dynasty.

  Then one day Vasudeva, Sri Krishna’s father, and his wife, Devaki, were riding home from their wedding. Devaki’s brother, the demoniac King Kamsa, was driving the chariot. Then a voice of warning came from the sky announcing that Kamsa would be killed by Devaki’s 8th son.

Kamsa was immediately ready to kill his sister, but Vasudeva instructed him and talked him out of the idea. Kamsa was still not satisfied, so Vasudeva said he would bring all of the children to Kamsa as they were born.

Then Kamsa could kill them. As the children were born, at first Kamsa decided not to kill them.

But later Kamsa learned from the sage Narada Muni that the demigods were appearing in the Yadu and Vrishni dynasties and were conspiring to kill him.

Kamsa then decided that all the children in these families should be killed, and that Vasudev and Devaki should be imprisoned in his jail in Mathura, and that their children should not be spared.

Narada Muni had also told Kamsa that in his previous life he had been a demon named Kalanemi who was killed by Lord Vishnu.

Thus, Kamsa became especially infuriated and a dedicated enemy of all the descendants of the Yadu dynasty.

            Anantadeva (Balarama) first appeared in the womb of Devaki as her 7th pregnancy. It was Yogamaya, Krishna’s internal potency, who made the arrangement to transfer Anantadeva from the womb of Devaki to that of Rohini, a wife of Nanda Maharaja in Gokul, from whom He appeared as Balarama.

Then, with the prayers and meditations of Vasudeva, Lord Krishna appeared within his heart, and then within the heart of Devaki. So Devaki’s 8th pregnancy was Krishna Himself. Thereafter, she became increasingly effulgent, which drew the attention of Kamsa, who wanted to kill Krishna. Thus, he became absorbed in thoughts of Krishna.

Devaki also drew the attention of the many demigods who came to offer prayers to her and the Lord in her womb.

            When the Lord appeared, He first exhibited His four-armed form to show that He was the Supreme Lord.

Vasudeva and Devaki were struck with wonder and offered many prayers. Yet, fearing Kamsa, Devaki prayed that Krishna withdraw His four-armed form and exhibit His two-armed form.

            The Lord also told them of how He had appeared two other times as their son in the form of Prishnigarbha and Vamanadeva.

This was the 3rd time that He was appearing as their son to fulfill their desires. That night, during a rainstorm, Lord Krishna desired to leave the prison and be taken to Gokul.

By the arrangement of Yogamaya, the shackles and prison doors were opened and Vasudeva was able to leave the prison and take Krishna to Gokul, thus saving the child from the danger of Kamsa.

At this time, Yogamaya herself had taken birth from Mother Yashoda as a baby girl.

When Vasudeva arrived at Nanda Maharaja’s house, everyone was in deep sleep.

Thus, he was able to place Lord Krishna in the hands of Yashoda, while taking her own newly born baby girl back with him. This baby girl was actually Krishna’s energy, Yogamaya.

When he returned, he placed the baby girl on Devaki’s bed, and prepared to accept his place in the prison again by putting the shackles back on.

Later, when Yashoda awoke in Gokul, she could not remember whether she had given birth to a male or female child, and easily accepted Lord Krishna as her own.

            When the baby girl, Yogamaya, began crying in the morning, it drew the attention of the doorkeepers of the prison, who then notified King Kamsa.

Kamsa forcefully appeared in the prison to kill the child.

Devaki pleaded with him to save the baby. Instead, he grabbed the little girl from her arms and tried to dash the baby against a rock.

However, she slipped from his hands and rose above his head, floating in the air while exhibiting her true form as the eight-armed Durga.

Durga told Kamsa that the person for whom he was looking had already taken birth elsewhere.

Thus, Kamsa became filled with wonder that Devaki’s eighth child appeared to be a female, and the enemy he feared had taken birth elsewhere. Then he released Devaki and Vasudeva, being apologetic for all that he had done.

            Yet, after conferring with his ministers, they decided that they had best try to kill all the children that had been born in the past ten days in the attempt to try to find and kill Kamsa’s enemy, Krishna.

Meanwhile, Lord Krishna started His pastimes with His devotees in Gokul and Vrindavana to display His unique characteristics, personality and beauty.

            In this way, as Sri Uddhava explained to Vidura, “The Lord appeared in the mortal world by His external potency, yogamaya.

He came in His eternal form, which is just suitable for His pastimes. These pastimes were wonderful for everyone, even for those proud of their own opulence, including the Lord Himself in His form as the Lord of Vaikuntha.

Thus His [Sri Krishna’s] transcendental body is the ornament of all ornaments…

            The Personality of Godhead, the all-compassionate controller of both the material and spiritual creations, is unborn, but when there is friction between His peaceful devotees and persons who are in the material modes of nature, He takes His birth just like fire, accompanied by the mahat-tattva.” ( Srimad Bhagavatam – 3.2.12, 15 )