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According to
the legends, the birth of Lord Krishna took place under
extraordinary circumstances. Krishna was an incarnation of
Lord Vishnu who come to the world to get rid of all evil
demons. He was born at midnight stroke on a dark, rainy night
to 'Devaki' and 'Vasudev' who had been imprisoned by Devaki's
brother Kansa.
It had been
foretold that the eighth son of Devaki would kill the evil
king Kansa. Upon hearing this prophesy, Kansa had his sister
put into prison. He killed her seven children one by one but
when Krishna was born, there was divine intervention to save
the life of baby Krishna. The guards had fallen into deep
slumber and were unable to inform their master about the
newborn child.
A voice
commanded Vasudev to take the baby to Gokul and exchange with
the newborn baby Nanda and Yashoda. The shackles and the
prison gates opened miraculously and Vasudev carried the child
in a small basket, through the waters of Yamuna. As it was a
dark stormy night, the waters of Yamuna were raging but parted
to let the carrier of the divine Krishna pass. A huge snake
known as Adisesha with 2000 hoods, glided behind them, its
hoods formed a protective canopy over the child
When Vasudev
returned back with Nanda's child the shackles fastened and the
doors closed and the guards awakened. Kansa came and picked up
the child to hurl it to the wall and kill him but somehow the
baby slipped from his grasp and took the form of a Goddess
laughing at Kansa, she vanished after telling him that the one
who would kill him had already taken birth and was elsewhere..
As a little
boy, Krishna was the heartbeat of Gokul, a mischievous
prankster who was favorite amongst the gopikas. He used to
steal curd and butter from the houses of gopikas. Even though
he was a child, he performed several miracles. His exploits
are now the immortal legends of Braj. He killed a number of 'asuras'(devils),
vanquished the Kali Nag and later he killed Kansa as it had
been foretold.
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