Krishna as a man, the mission that he took up in his life, the infirmity of being a human being living such an energetic life, and at the same time, the celestial element – all these characteristics form a complex web. It is not precise to see him just as this or that. He would come out as a slanted figure if you were looking at just one aspect of his life. He is a compound personality that unless you at least touch a little bit of all of him, it would be a total prejudice against him.
The Place Where Krishna Was Born
Geologically, his birth took place in Mathura, in the current state of Uttar Pradesh. There was a protuberant chief of the Yadava community named Ugrasena. Ugrasena was aging and his very striving son, Kansa, who had no suspicions about how to become powerful could not wait for his father to die. He restrained his father and took over the leadership. He also united himself with a merciless emperor from the East whose name was Jarasandha. Jarasandha’s dream was to surmount the whole known world. Through absolute vicious force, his power was growing at a prodigious pace. Kansa ranged with him because that was the only way to get authoritative at that time.
Why Kansa Wanted to Kill Krishna
Kansa’s sister Devaki got married to Vasudeva, the alternative Yadava chief. Just after the wedding, when Kansa himself was driving the just married couple in his chariot, an astronomical voice made a prediction. This expression said from the sky, “Oh Kansa, very happy you are driving your sister after her wedding. The eighth child born to this sister of yours will massacre you. That will be your final end.” Instantaneously, Kansa got violent. “Oh, her eighth kind will come and slaughter me? I am going to slay her right now. Let’s see how she will have her eighth kid.” He took out his sword and right there, wanted to decapitate his sister. Vasudeva, the groom, pleads to Kansa, “Please let her live. How can you do such a drastic thing? She is your blood and we are just married. How can you just massacre her right here?” “Her eighth offspring is going to slay me. I am not going to let something like that happen.” So Vasudeva offered a treaty, “I will give all our newborns to you. You can slaughter them. But please spare my companion right now.” But Kansa, overly anxious about his life and security, kept his sister and his brother-in-law under a kind of house incarceration so that they were continuously watched. The first child was born and the guards updated Kansa with the information. When he came, Devaki and Vasudeva wept and requested, “It is only the eighth child which is going to destroy you. leave this one.” Kansa said, “I don’t want to take any chances at all.” He picked up the newly born offspring, held him by the legs, and crashed him on a hard rock placed in the prison cell. This continued as his general practice every time he got the news of a newborn baby. Six newborn children were crushed like this.
How Balarama Reached Gokul
Devaki and Vasudeva were very exasperated with Kansa’s ways. The subjects in the empire were very atrocious of Kansa. Over time, they also got exasperated with the absolutely cruel ways of the king, continually at battle with someone and then, killing these offsprings. Slowly, the opposition was beginning to transpire within the palace. So when the seventh child came, Vasudeva accomplished to smuggle it out and interchange it with a stillborn child that they found somewhere else. This child was rustled across the Yamuna River to Gokula and given to Rohini, another wife of Vasudeva. The name of this kid was Balarama. As he grew up, he became huge and there are many stories about his strength and the feats that he executed.
Vasudev Taking Krishna to Gokul
When the eighth child was due, Kansa got anxious. All these days, they had been under house capture, but now he handcuffed Vasudeva and put Devaki in a proper custodial cell. The child was delivered on the eighth day into the shady half of the month, and it was pouring rain and rumble. Kansa would not allow anybody to enter the custodial because something may happen. He put his reliable aide, a lady who was correlated to him whose name was Puthana, as a midwife. She was supposed to guard. The plan was that the second the child is born, she would hand it over to Kansa who would slaughter the child. The labor pains arose and went, arose and went. Puthana waited for a prolonged period. It didn’t take place. During the night, she went to her place for a few minutes and came back. But when she reached her home, suddenly a very heavy rain set in and the roads were flooded. In this situation, Puthana was incapable of going back to prison. That was when the child was born and a miracle occurred. The doors of the prison unlocked by themselves – all the protectors fell asleep – the manacles broke. Instantaneously, Vasudeva saw that this was a heavenly intervention. He picked up the child and as if by spontaneous guidance, he walked to the stream of Yamuna river. Though the whole place was submerged, he found to his astonishment that the ford which traversed the river was sticking out and he could walk. He walked and went to the house of Nanda and his wife Yashodha. Yashodha delivered a girl child at that moment. She had had problematic labor and was cataleptic. Vasudeva replaced the girl child with his little boy - Kanha, took the girl child and came back to the custodial.