Reading Notes: Krishna and the Gods Part A
One day, within a prosperous kingdom, the king has a son. All is not prosperous with the birth however, there are many bad omens. The king asks wise men to tell him what all of these omens mean. They tell him that his son will work with the powers of evil, and oppress the followers of Krishna. This quickly became evident when Kans as a child would strangle people he met. He eventually overthrows his father, gathers armies of demons, and becomes a powerful ruler over a terrible wasteland. The gods took action- they went to the strongest of the gods and asked for help in stopping Kans. He tells them to be born as mortals and that he will follow suit in time.
During a feast, Kans is told that Devaki's eighth child will be his downfall. He grabs Devaki and throws her to the ground, yelling at her. Vasudev convinces Kans to allow them to continue living but that Kans can do whatever he wishes with any children they have. Kans kill all of their children before they are born. Before having a seventh child, Dewaki prays to Wishnu, the mightiest of the gods. She gives birth to the seventh child, and Wishnu takes the child to another house to be raised. Kans comes looking for the seventh child- they tell him the baby died before it was born. He doesn't trust them, so he locks up both Devaki and Vasudev. Eventually, the gods come and free Devaki and Wasudew from their prison.
Krishna is born to the Wasudew and Devaki amid trumpet sounds and nature collectively celebrating. Krishna's godly form is presented to his parents. He tells them that he needs to be taken away to another city so that he can one day put Kans to death. Then he makes Wasudew and Devaki forget his godly form, but they remembered his message. Krishna puts guards to sleep, opens the door, and frees Wasudew from his handcuffs. They swap Devaki's eighth child with a baby girl. As Kans goes to kill this baby girl, the gods intervene and inform Kans that Devaki's eighth child will still kill him.
Krishna did everything possible to make the people of Brindaban love him. He put out forest fires and defeated evil an evil serpent that plagued the land. In doing this, Krishna became more popular among people than Indra. Indra became jealous and sent torrential rain to destroy the city. Krishna protected the city by holding a mountain over it. Indra comes down and worships Krishna. The people of the city realize who Krishna truly is. They also worship him. Yet, he wipes their minds so he can continue to live in peace and secrecy.
Krishna and Balaram went to the wrestling grounds. A great elephant blocked their path. They tell the rider to move the elephant or it will die. The elephant goes to attack Balaram, who swats away the elephant's trunk. The elephant attacked in pain and fear. His tusks passed right through Krishna. The brothers battled demons, warriors, and wrestlers, defeating all of them. Kans, in fear, told his men to go kill Ugrasen, Wasudew, and Devaki. Krishna killed his men on the spot. Then he jumps towards the throne. Kans tries to defend himself with his sword, but Krishna ultimately grabs Kans by the hair and splatters him across the ground. He defeats all of Kans' brothers. He then performs funeral rites for Kans with the many widows of Kans.
Rukmini was so beautiful that word of her beauty traveled throughout the land. Krishna falls in love with the idea of Rukmini. She then hears great stories of Krishna from a traveling bard. she starts to pray that Krishna may become her husband. Her two brothers each propose husbands. The first proposes Shishupal. The second proposes Krishna. The first brother is outraged and claims that on Shishupal is fit for Rukmini. When Rukmini finds out she is to marry Shishupal, she sends a messenger to Krishna, asking him to come to marry her. The older brother and Shishupal plot to get rid of Krishna once he arrives in the city. Their schemes don't work. Yet, when Krishna gets Rukmini into his chariot and he raises his sword, Shishupal flees. In fact, no bloodshed occurs. Krishna and Rukmini are married.
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