Sri Krishna Janmashtami

   Sri Krishna janmashtami is celebrated all over India with joy and devotion, praising the lila of the Lord. His birthday is celebrated putting Him in a silver cradle, offering varieties of fruits and eatable that children cherish normally! It is day of fasting for elderly people! Since Krishna takes birth at midnight the whole night is one of singing and dance! This is the story of Krishna as depicted in the Srimad Bhagavatam. It is stated that Sage Vedavyasa was not happy even after scripting seventeen epics and Sage Narada meets him and asks why he is sad. Vyasadeva states that he is not happy with all that he has written and there is something that needs to be done. Sage Narada advises him to write the biography of Sri Krishna! Since he had already written the famous epic Mahabharata, this childhood story of Balakrishna was felt indeed necessary and this became his last epic! The Vaishnavas even today adore Srimad Bhavatam more than any other works of Vyasadeva. 

   Krishma is said to be the eighth child born in jaol in Mathura  to Vasudeva and Devaki. Devaki, sister of Kamsa was kept in jail along with Vasudeva after their marriage due to the fear that her son would kill him! It is said that Kamsa was rejoicing after the marriage celebrations and he heard a voice that warned him not to be so happy and joyful since her son would be the cause of his death! This created such a fear that he wanted to kill the newly-weds then and there! However, he was advised not to be hasty and wait. So he put them in jail and went on killing each and every child born to them. Actually, the eighth child was a girl child, however, Kamsa wanted to kill the child and threw her up and smash! The girl child, 'yogamaya', laughed at him saying that, "the child that would kill him is already born, and escaped!" This so much enraged Kamsa that he ordered killing of all children born in his kingdom on that day. In fact, the male child born was Krishna shifted to Devaki's sister's house by Vasudeva and a girl child was replaced! Thus, Krishna was brought up at Nanda's place Gokula! It is also said hat Krishna descended from Heavens at the same time the girl child yogamaya escaped! Krishna is depicted as God-incarnate, never born as a child in the womb! The Bhagavad-Gita narrates in every detail who Krishna is. Etymologically speaking Krush means that which deteriorates and na is never and thus, Krushna is that which never deteriorates. Krishna is also called Achyuta (nasharahita), the one who never diminishes or destroyed, and Ananta, the endless, and Govinda, the source of Light! He is also Devesha, Lord ofallGods!

    The childhood of Krishna is depicted in Bhagavatam is adventurous, beyond our imagination! The child killed Putani, tried to breast-feed poison, play pranks with other children, lifts up Mandhara parvata, lift and throw a bullock cart, and even killed Kamsa in a wrestling fight as a young boy! The child Krishna is depicted here as a very attractive, daring, fond of butter and cows! Village damsels used to gather to hear his flute and many of them used to forget everything and run to hear him playing his flute. Radha is one such who was mesmerized and devotedly loved Him till the end of her life. All these are to be taken in a symbolic way depicting the spiritual aspects rather than the worldly ones! Every word in the epics written by Vedavyasa has a deeper spiritual meaning. This is difficult for ordinary people to understand. It requires yogabhyasa and spiritual attainment. 

  We will not go into the childhood pranks of Krishna here. It is more intriguing to know many a colorful facets of life and deeds of Krishna. But before that, who this Krishna is remains a riddle! There is no mention of Krishna in any of the earlier scripture as remarked by the well known scholar Surendranath Dasgupta. However, Ahirbudhnya Samhita of Pancharatra Agama depicts Krishna as one of the several avataras of Vishnu. Lakshmi Tantra is another important work (by Prof. Samjukta Gupta, MLBD) that explains all these. Also, the Viashnava tradition traces the birth of Rama and Krishna as human beings! It is Aniruddha who is the Creator of these humans! Sankarshana and Pradyumna create the great sages and the devi devata as directed by Vasudeva under the powers granted by Sri Mahalakshmi who exercise the six powers (shakti) of Narayana- jnyana, shakti, aishvarya, bala, virya, and tejas. All these six powers are exercised, two of these each as special powers by Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, respectively. Thus we have the source of these in Agama shastra. This leaves no doubt about the creation of different levels of Consciousness. However, any one can make effort to rise from the lowest of the animals to the highest of Brahmn! Thus, we have even plants, birds, animals- bipeds and quadrupeds, deified and worshiped! Thus, Sri Krishna is depicted at different levels of Consciousness as seen from Srimad Bhagavatam, Mahabharata, and the Bhagavad-Gita! The Bhagavad-Gita depicts Sri Krishna as 'nirakara parabrahman'! Vibhuti yoga (Ch.X of the Gita) depicting Sri Krishna as Purusha, the Seed of creation, and all that exists are His manifests forms! It goes to the credit of Sri Shankaracharya who discoverd the strange episode of the Bhagavad-Gita and Vishnu Sahasranamam in the Mahabharata Text! Actually, the Gitopadesha was first imparted to Sun Vaivasvan and the first Manu and then King Ikshvaku at the begining of creation, and not in the dvapara yuga of the Seventh Vaivasvata manvantara!   

(to be contd.)