Krishna leela - Engluf fire in the jungle

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In this katha we shall see the supreme's leela, how shree krishna englufs forest -fire and saves his fellow cowboys.

Krishna's popularity among his mates rested on his mischievous pranks. Early in the morning his mates used to come to his house and called him out for play. As soon as Krishna heard their call, he used to come out and ploy with them. The most favorite game with Krishna and his mates was hide-and-seek. At times, Krishna disappeared from a place where there was nothing to hide behind. All his mates would feel surprised and would begin to find him out. When they were unsuccessful, they doubted that Kansa's men might have abducted Krishna. So, they would call out his name loudly in worry. When Krishna saw his mates worried for him, he would appear smiling from behind them and again run forward coiling out, 'Catch me! Catch me!' and the confused mates would again follow him but only to find him missing again. When the mates were tired of discovering Krishna, they would sit under some fruit-tree, Krishna would drop a ripe fruit from above and say, "Here I am." Balram would keep smiling at his pranks standing at a distance because he knew fully well the secrets of his naughty moves.

All the cowboys were very happy playing with Krishna . They used to drove their cattle to the bank of the Yamuna and left them to graze there. Now the cowboys planned to seat Krishna in the center and surround him to enjoy their food sharing it with one another. They washed their hands and sat under a shady tree. Some of them placed their meals on leaves and some on stones. Some of them placed their food on the grass while others held it in their hands. In order to express their gratitude to Krishna, they formed a plate out of wild flowers and placed his food on it. Now the cowboys began to eat the food sharing it among themselves. Each cowboy tried to put something into Krishna's mouth with his own hands. Krishna was beside himself with joy to see the untold love of his mates for him. So, he was accepting gladly whatever each of them put into his mouth. How joyful this meal sharing would have been in the company of Sri Krishna! Such an occasion is indeed not easily available to angels even. How enviable was the good luck of the cowboys of Vrindavan! Even the gods were very rarely able to have a glimpse of Lord Vishnu, but these cowboys were enjoying His company constantly as His chums. They dined, played, grazed cattle, danced and sang in His company in Vrindavan. Krishna used to indulge in various playful activities along with his mates. To hop like frogs, to try to fly like birds, to frisk like deer, to dance as peacocks, to roar like a lion and to copy the cries of various birds and animals were some of these activities. The cowboys felt fearless and happy in the company of Krishna. They had intense love and devotion towards their friend Krishna. They used to make garlands of multi-colored wild flowers for him and put them round his neck. Not only this, they used to adorn him in various ways with a view to win his favor. How strange it is that the cowboys could enjoy the close company of Lord Vishnu whereas even gods could have His glimpse only from a distance and saints and ascetics had to take recourse to various yoga-modes to concentrate on His form! Anybody and everybody felt envious of the cowboys and wanted to emulate them. How fortunate were these rustic cowboys to have Lady Luck smile upon them!. To accompany the cowboys for grazing his calves was the daily routine of Krishna now. The cows and the calves kept grazing while Krishna, along with his mates, indulged in various playful activities and thus they all enjoyed themselves.

One day when Krishna was engaged in play with his friends, the cattle strayed to a distance and reached a forest with dense growth of a wild grass. Roaming there, they lost the way and began to low aloud to attract the attention of their grazers. Hearing the loud cries of the cattle, the cowboys were reminded of them and so went about looking for them. Soon they reached the forest with the wild grass where their cattle were roaming. Unfortunately, the grass burst into flames due to a jungle-fire just at the moment and the cowboys felt worried about the safety of their cattle that could be roasted alive. They ail requested Krishna to do something to save their cattle. Krishna smiled and asked his friends to close their eyes for a while. The cowboys felt amazed at first but when asked again they complied with Krishna's suggestion in implicit faith. As soon as they closed their eyes, Krishna began to swallow the jungle fire and in a few moments there was not even a sign of it anywhere. All the mates praised Krishna for his miracle.

Krishna blesses the mango seller

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shree Krishna loves his devotees, if u ofer him anything with love and devotion, he gives u much more than what u gave and this can be seen in this part of Katha. How shree krishna blesses the mango seller and shows her his devine form.

One day a fruit-selling lady passed hawking before Nand Baba's house. Krishna heard her voice and went to her with a handful of rice for buying fruit. A child as he was, all the rice got scattered on the ground through his fingers. The fruit-seller was fascinated by Krishna's innocence and gave him a lot o~ fruit. She went away without taking anything in exchange for the fruit. When the fruit-seller reached home, she was highly astonished to see her basket filled with valuable jewels. Almost every day, some such miracle occurred in Gokul and, as a result, the people of the village felt amazed as well as frightened. They apprehended some calamity as a climax of these miracles. But when someone asked Krishna about them, he simply laughed the matter away. The falling of the trees in the absence of any storm pushed the entire village of Gokul into the jaws of untold fear. They believed this happening to be the handiwork of demons. So they held a meeting and decided to leave Gokul and settle at Vrindavan.Consequently the people of Gokul packed their belongings and putting them on bullock-carts proceeded to Vrindavan. Women, old men and children were made to sit on the carts while men armed with sticks, swords, bows and arrows walked surrounding the carts on all sides. On one cart were sitting Rohini, Yashoda, Balram and Krishna. Having reached Vrindavan, people of Gokul settled there. The cowboys used to take their cattle to the pastures for grazing. As Krishna had grown up a little more, he also insisted on going with the cowboys in order to graze the cows. But Nand Baba was not' ready to allow him to do so for fear of some untoward happening. But Krishna did not give up his demand. He stuck to it and forced Nand Baba to permit him to accompany the cowboys with little calves. His joy knew no bounds to have got the permission indeed. The cowboys were extremely happy to know that Krishna would be accompanying them in order to graze his little calves. They felicitated him on having got the permission.

Mischivious Krishna and freeing Nalkuber and Manigreeva from their curse

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Krishna was very mischivous , when he was young, but this nature of Krishna was devine and beautiful.

Krishna was very active and frolicsome by nature. Every minute a new mischief occurred to him. Indeed it was because o~ this mischievous nature that his childhood was so charming and fascinating. But Yashoda was always anxious regarding her son for the following two reasons. One reason was that he could hurt himself while making naughty movements carelessly and the second reason was that he could get to a distant place while playing and Kansa's men could easily catch him and whisk him away to Mathura. Whenever Yashoda tried to advise Krishna, he, very cleverly, involved her in his innocent talk and the mother could not help hugging h9r out of filial love. As soon as Yashoda turned her attention to some household job, he used to slink away giving her a slip. The helpless mother would again call out, "Kanhaiya! 'Kanhaiya!" and come to the doorstep to look for him. She felt satisfied only when some dame of the neighborhood would bring him to her catching him by the arm.

When anyone came to Yashoda with a complaint against her son saying, "Look Yashoda! Your son has broken my pots full of butter and spilt the whole of it on the ground," Krishna tried to slip away from the scene as soon as possible.Now Krishna had grown up a little more and consequently his mischiefs had also enlarged their proportions. He would steal into any house along with his friends, break the pots full of butter and curd with a rod and eat up all of if. One day a milkmaid saw Krishna and his friends stealing butter etc. from her house. She ran to Yashoda and complained to her saying, "Can't you advise your son z Come with me and see how he ho broken my pots full of butter and yogurt and spilt everything in the soil." Yashoda retorted helplessly, "Whet should I do, sister z I am really fed up with his pranks.

I have advised him hard many a time but he cares a fig for it. Now it is for you only to preserve your things carefully." The milkmaid went away and alerted all the other milkmaids as well. Each of them tried her best to protect her milk and milk-products from Krishna and his mates but all to no purpose. To tease the milk-maids by laying hands on their milk and butter had become Krishna's second nature indeed.

Performance of Indra-Yajana had been a practice in Vraj right since ancient times. These yajanas were performed to thank Lord India for timely rains. Gokul was also preparing for this yajana. So, Yashoda sent all her maids to make preparations for the afore-said Yajana and she sat down churning curd. Krishna was enjoying a sound sleep at that time. Suddenly he woke up and insisted on a suckle. Yashoda leaving her job of churning began to suckle her son. She had kept some milk on the fireplace for boiling. All of a sudden, the milk boiled and began to spill out of the Kettle. Seeing this, Yashoda ran towards the fireplace leaving Krishna where she was suckling him. Krishna was still hungry and wanted to suck milk for some time more. So, he got furious and struck the pot of curd with a piece of stone. As a result, the pot was broken and the entire yogurt was spilt on the ground. Still not satisfied, Krishna got to the cabin where butter was stored. Getting onto a big mortar, he brought down a pot full of butter and began to disburse 5t among his mates and some monkeys that were frisking about there.

When Yashoda came back after removing the boiling milk from over the fire, she found her churning pot broken but she could find Krishna nowhere. Suddenly she discovered Krishna's footprints and followed them with a stick in her hand. Reaching the cabin, she found her son feeding his mates and monkeys with butter.Seeing his mother with a stick in her hand, Krishna got down from the mortar and rushed outside followed by his mother. But when he got tired at last, he stopped and began to weep bitterly. The mother could not stand the sight of her weeping son and threw away her stick. She caught Krishna by the hand and said, "Sonny you have become extremely naughty now. I must punish you today." Saying so, Yashoda brought Krishna near the mortar on which he was standing some time before. She started tying him to the mortar but the rope fell short. Now Yashoda tried a longer rope but it fell short too.

She tried several ropes, each longer than the previous one, but all of them failed to do the job. At last Yashoda joined all the ropes through knots in order to tie her son to the mortar. Strangely enough, such a long rope fell short too. Not knowing what to do, Yashoda sat down weeping and said, "Krishna! Why should you bother me to that extent? I won't speak to you at all. " Finding his mother helpless and troubled at heart, Krishna began to smile and tied himself to the mortar with his own hands. Feellng satisfied, Yashoda set about doing some household job. Krishna sat down on his knees and caused the mortar to tumble down so that it could roll when drawn. Now he began to crawl on his knees towards the twin trees standing in front of the house.The twin trees were, in fact, the two sons of Kubera--the god of wealth. Their names were Nal Kuber and Manigreeva. It was because of a curse that they had been turned to trees. The story goes that once these two brothers, after taking wine, were having their bath in the company of their wives. All of a sudden, Saint Narda happened to come there. Seeing him, both the ladies put on their clothes and got aside. But both the brothers, intoxicated as they were, kept standing naked before the saint. The saint could not tolerate their impertinence and uttered a curse on them," Go and stand as trees in Gokul for ever."

Hearing the curse, the wives of both the brothers got worried and they beseeched the saint to excuse their husband s. the saint replied, "They will be rid of this curse when Lord Vishnu appears in Gokul as Krishna." Since the curse was uttered these trees had been standing in front of Nand Baba's house. So, to keep up the word given by Saint Narda to the wives of the two brothers, Krishna dragged the mortar crawling in between the trees. The mortar got stuck up between them and when Krishna exerted force, the trees got uprooted and fell down. As soon as the trees fell down, they changed into their real forms as sons of Kubera. With folded hands, they began to praise Krishna and after seeking his permission, they returned to their place.Nand Baba and Yashoda came out running. They untied their son Krishna and fondled him time and again whereupon Krishna began to smile.

Shree Krishna shows mother yashoda the universe in his mouth

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The one who is supreme, the one whi is present in every element on this planet, shree krishna has the whole univers within him, mother yashoda fout it out when she opened Krishna's mouth.

Now Krishna had grown up a little. Now, he had started waking also. So, he used to play with other children of his age before his house. One day it so happened that Krishna, while playing, put some soil into his mouth, One of his play-mates went up to Yashoda and told her about what Krishna had done. Yashoda caught Krishna by the hand and brought him inside. She said, "My son! It is bad to put soil into the mouth. It leads to worms in the belly and soil-eating children often fall ill. Have you eaten soil, sonny! Open your mouth hand show it to me." "No, mother; I haven't eaten soil at all retorted Krishna. "But Open your mouth and show me," Yashoda said again. Krishna opened his mouth wide and Yashoda was wonder-struck to see the entire universe--the sun, the moon, stars, the earth etc.--inside Krishna's mouth. Now Yashoda was fully convinced that her son was not an ordinary boy but God Himself. Seeing Yashoda amazed, Krishna made her forget this thought through his divine power. Yashoda began to fondle him with deep affection and Krishna began to smile.

Krishna's childhood in vrindavan - Krishna kills pootna

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As mentioned in the last post, sri Krishna was safely taken to Gokul to yashodha and the child that vasudev brought back turned into a devi, who in turn iformed kansa that his destroyer had taken birth already in his kindom........

Kansa was extremely worried because of the birth of Devaki's eighth son. In order to get rid of the baby, Kansa sent for a demoness named Pootna and ordered her, "Pootna! Kill all the babies born in Mathura and Gokul during the month of August(Bhandon). My killer is one of these babies but I do not know which one is that. If you kill all of them, who will be there to kill me?" Pootna transformed herself into a beautiful dame and began to roam in Mathura with a view to locating the newborn babies in August. She used to apply poison on her breasts and suckled each baby to death. Having killed all the babies in Mathura she went to Gokul.

There also she killed good many babies and then she came to know of the baby born to Yashoda, Nand Baba's wife. So, she went to Yashoda's house and started talking with her lovingly. Using tact and oily words, Pootna took Yashoda into confidence and lifted infant Krishna info her arms. She said, "How lovely a baby! Isn't it? How old is he? When was he born?" A lady present there said, "He is Nand Baba's son and is named Krishna. He was born on the eighth night of the waning moon during the month of August. As soon as Pootna heard the name of the month, her eyes sparkled with hope. But concealing his evil design, she said, "May I fondle him for a while?". Seeing Pootna s affection towards Krishna, Yashoda could not help agreeing to what she had asked for. So, Pootna took Krishna into her lap and began to fondle him. Giving Yashoda a slip, she slunk away to a lonely corner and began to suckle him from her breasts smeared with poison. Little did she know that instead of being successful in killing Krishna, she would be killed by him. Young Krishna began to suck Pootna's breast.

He sucked it with such a force that Pootna felt as if she were going to die. She screamed in acute pain and instantly fell down dead. Finding Pootna absent with Krishna for long, Yashoda felt worried and came out to look for her son. A number of other dames also joined her in this search. Soon they all reached the spot where Pootna was lying lifeless and Krishna lay smiling by her side. Yashoda gave out a loud cry out of fear as she had already heard of the Pootna's wicked way of killing the infants. Advancing forward, she weaned her son away with a jerk. Soon they come to understand that Pootna had died. The news of Pootna's death spread like wild fire in the whole of Gokul and people flocked to see her lying dead. They began to praise Krishna again and again. As for Kansa, he was shocked to hear of Pootna s death at Krishna's hands.

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Krishna - Birth Of The Supreme

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It is said "Whenever the Satanic values come to prevail on the earth and the righteous values decline, the Supreme Being (the Godhead) embodies Himself forth as a human-being in order to uproot vice and to establish virtue so that the earth may get rid of sinners. History stands witness to this fact. The birth of Lord Krishna, thousands of years ago, can be cited as an example to prove this fact"

Mother Earth, at that time, was suffering from the tortures of demoniac powers that were at their hey-day. The pitch darkness of sin prevalent everywhere was devouring noble values mercilessly. When the mother Earth could not tolerate all this, she approached Lord Brahma, the Creator of the world. Lord Brahma escorted her to Lord Vishnu to ask for His help, Hearing the woeful tale of the Mother Earth, the Lord consoled her saying. "Don't worry, Goddess Earth! I myself shall come in the form of Krishna in order to rid you of the clutches of sinners." This was the background of the incarnation of Lord Krishna. The story begins when Kansa, son of Ugrasena, the old ruler of Mathura, was escorting her cousin Devaki and her husband Vasudeva to her in-laws lust after her marriage with Vasudeva. On tire way, Kansa was startled to hear a divine voice, which said, "O cruel king! The eighth son of this very cousin of yours will be your killer.
Having heard the divine words, Kansa felt worried and at the same time he flew into a rage. Though his love for his cousin, Devaki, was immense, yet he now considered her to be his murderer's birth-giver. So, he made up his mind to kill Devaki instantly. Having resolved to put Devaki to death, Kansa drew out his sword and thundered, "I will put an end to Devaki's life. Wherefrom, then, will my murderer be born? When the tree is not there, there can't be any fruit." Vasudeva was an old friend of Kansa. He requested the king with folded hands, "Friend! What are you up to? Devaki is your cousin. I think that you want the divine prophecy not to come true. So, I give a solemn word to hand over each and every baby to you as soon as it is born to us." Kansa agreed to what his friend had offered. He said, "All right! I will not kill Devaki but must keep you imprisoned here at Mathura. I won't let you go to your own place." Kansa returned to Mathura along with Devaki and Vasudeva. He took them prisoners near his palace. At the same time, he imprisoned his old father, King Ugrasena, so that he might seize the throne and declare himself king of Mathura. He was sure that his father, if allowed to continue as king, would not let him kill the babies born to Devaki the babies born to Devaki.
In due course of time, Devaki gave birth to her first son. Vasudeva sent the information of this birth to Kansa through the guards of the prison. Kansa sent for Vasudeva along with the baby. When Vasudeva came to Kansa with his son in his arms, Kansa was pleased with him as he had fulfilled his promise. So, he returned the baby to him and Vasudeva came back to the prison happy and satisfied. But after an hour or so, Kansa reached the prison in person. He was almost mad in rage. Ill-advised by someone, he had taken a firm decision to kill each baby born to her cousin Devaki. So, he snatched the baby from her and struck it on a stone with the result that it was killed there and then. In like manner, Kansa put five more sons of Devaki to death one by one. Out of Kansa's fear, Rohini, the second wife of Vasudeva left Mathura and began to live at Gokul. Now Devaki was again in the family way for her seventh issue. Miraculously, her pregnancy got transferred to Rohini and she gave birth to a son who was named Balram. In course of time, Devaki was to deliver her eighth son and she was extremely worried. Vasudeva consoled her saying that it was this baby who was destined to put an end to the excesses of sinful Kansa.
In due course of time, Devaki gave birth to her first son. Vasudeva sent the information of this birth to Kansa through the guards of the prison. Kansa sent for Vasudeva along with the baby. When Vasudeva came to Kansa with his son in his arms, Kansa was pleased with him as he had fulfilled his promise. So, he returned the baby to him and Vasudeva came back to the prison happy and satisfied. But after an hour or so, Kansa reached the prison in person. He was almost mad in rage. Ill-advised by someone, he had taken a firm decision to kill each baby born to her cousin Devaki. So, he snatched the baby from her and struck it on a stone with the result that it was killed there and then. In like manner, Kansa put five more sons of Devaki to death one by one. Out of Kansa's fear, Rohini, the second wife of Vasudeva left Mathura and began to live at Gokul. Now Devaki was again in the family way for her seventh issue. Miraculously, her pregnancy got transferred to Rohini and she gave birth to a son who was named Balram. In course of time, Devaki was to deliver her eighth son and she was extremely worried. Vasudeva consoled her saying that it was this baby who was destined to put an end to the excesses of sinful Kansa.
After a long wait, the month of August (Bhandon) approached and soon it was the eighth day of the waning moon. Devaki and Vasudeva, fettered in chains, were sitting in their prison-room lost in endless worry. Suddenly, clouds began to thunder and lightning flashed alarmingly. Through an open window of the prison entered a dazzling beam of light and a fascinating voice resounded, "Devaki! I am Vishnu. And I am going to be born to you shortly." Then the voice addressed Vasudeva, "Vasudeva! Take me to Nand Baba, Chief of Gokul, as soon as I am born. Just at the time of my birth, a daughter will be born to Nand Baba's wife. Bring the girl in lieu of me and put her into Devaki's lap." Hearing these words of lord Vishnu, Vasudeva and Devaki folded their hands and began to praise Him. Just at midnight was born Lord Krishna. The baby was extremely -handsome and lovely. It seemed as if it were smiling to see them: As soon as Vasudeva thought of carrying the baby to Nand Baba, who lived at Gokul, his fetters got loose and he was free. And when he got ready to go, the gates got opened and all the guards were lost in deep slumber snoring heavily. So, Vasudeva came out unnoticed and advanced on the path leading to Gokul.

When Vasudeva left Mathura and reached the bank of the Yamuna, it began to rain in torrents and Vasudeva felt worried for his son. But he did not know that Sheshnaga was following him with his hood spread wide over the baby with a view to protecting it from the downpour. Before long, the Yamuna was also flooded. But Vasudeva was determined to reach Gokul I with h is newborn baby. So, he went on proceeding forward making it a question of life and death. He went down the ferry and made for the other bank gradually. Piercing the strong current of the river, he pushed-forward without looking back. At one stage, the water of the Yamuna surged upwards with a vengeance but after touching the foot of Lord Krishna, which he had hung down out of the basket, it receded to its normal flow. Vasudeva felt encouraged and hastened towards the other bank. Getting to it, he soon reached Gokul and made for and made for Nand Baba's house taking help from whoever met him on the way. Nand Baba was an old friend of Vasudeva and he was highly amazed to see Vasudeva there with a baby in such a stormy weather.
Nand Baba said to Vasudeva, "You-and here at this time! How did you get out of the prison? I am highly pleased to see you here. What can I do for you, my friend?" Vasudeva replied, "Friend! The time-schedule is very tight. I have come over to you at the bidding of Lord Vishnu Himself. Here is my eighth baby--Krishna." Then handing the baby across to Nand Baba, Vasudeva again said, "You have got to protect safely this baby of mine as I want to save him from the wrath of merciless Kansa," Nand Baba replied assuringly, "Vasudeva! Don't worry at all. I will take care of your son even at the cost of my life." Then Nand Baba again said, "I have been blessed with a daughter right today. I request you to take away my daughter in lieu of your son and put her in Devaki's lap so that sinful Kansa doesn't have anything to doubt." Saying so, Nand Baba took Krishna inside and put him by the side of his wife, Yashoda. And picking up his own daughter from there, he brought it out and handed it over to Vasudeva who, along with the baby-girl, hastened back to Mathura. When he reached inside the prison, his fetters were again on as before.

The gates also got closed and the guards woke up to be alert on their duty. Not only this, even the girl-baby began to weep as if she were born just then. The chief guard of the prison ran to king Kansa and informed him of the birth of Devaki's eighth issue. As soon as Kansa heard the news, he was beside himself with joy and spoke: "After all Devaki has delivered her eighth baby. I will go to the prison and put it to death in no time." Kansa reached the prison-room before long and thundered, "Devaki! Hand over this baby to me; I won't let it remain alive. "But friend! She is a girl; what will you gain by killing it?" remarked Vasudeva. "Shut up! Give it to me even if it is a girl." Saying these words, Kansa snatched the infant girl from Devaki's hands and tried to strike it on a stone. But the girl slipped out o~ his hand and flew upwards. While going up, she said, "O sinful Kansa! I am a divine illusion. Your would-be killer has been born and he is the eighth son of Devaki." As soon as Kansa heard these words, awe-mixed disappointment overwhelmed his face.

As for Gokul, the news of a son born to Nand Baba spread across in the whole of the village. People began to flock to-congratulate Nand Baba and his wife Yashoda. Whoever came near the baby could not help gazing at his face fixedly. The ladies spoke several felicitating sayings to see infant Krishna. Young dames were really lost seeing the baby. The loveliness of infant Krishna, in fact, cast a Spell on whoever chanced to see him. One of the ladies said, "Friends! Yashoda's lovely son has such a charm that I feel like remaining by his side all the time." Another said, "How lovely Nand Baba's son is! His charm is really fascinating." "It seems as if Lord Vishnu Himself has come in the shape of Yashoda's son," remarked a third woman. As for Nand Baba, he was busy celebrating the birth of his son. He gave cows, corn, clothes and ornaments in charity to the Brahmans, musicians and singers. Even small boys and girls came to have a glimpse of infant Krishna. Each of them brought some toy in the form of a present for the newborn. Some very innocent children went to the extent of saying, "Little one! Grow up soon, we will take you with us for play.

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