Reading Notes: Krishna Part A

The villagers of Gokula and Krishna fled to a new place called Vrindavan. There Krishna grew up peacefully until King Kansa learned where Krishna had gone. He once again plotted to kill him. This time he used a demon who shape shifted into a buffalo calf to try and gore him or trample him to death, but when the demon calf came to Krishna he saw through the disguise. He took the calf and swung it around his head into a tree and killed it. 
When King Kansa learned of the demon's failure, he summoned two more. The demon Bakasur tried first by becoming a crane and swallowing Krishna whole. When Krishna got swallowed, he beat the bird's insides until it threw him up. After the demon crane attempted to dive at him, but Krishna pulled him in two. 
After Bakasur, Aghasur attempted to kill Krishna. He shaped into a giant snake who camouflaged itself into the scenery with its mouth open. While waiting for Krishna, the demon snake ate some innocent bystanders walking down the path. When Krishna arrived, he walked into the snake's mouth and then grew until he broke its head apart. After this Kansa gave up.

Even though Kansa was no longer after him, soon another opponent arose. A 5 headed sea serpent named Kaliya who had come to the river to live after Grauda had wounded it. Krishna's friends told him about the serpent and so he decided to go and take care of it. Krishna threw himself into the river to attract Kaliya and when Kaliya appeared he bit Krishna with his poisonous fangs. The other boys who were watched went back to village weeping because they assumed Krishna had died. His parents weeped as well, but Balarama knew of Krishna's strength and yelled at him to fight back. Krishna heard him and used the last of his strength to break free. He almost killed Kaliya but the female seperents who came to the river with Kaliya begged for his freedom. Krishna agreed as long as he went away, but Kaliya was scared of Garuda still. Krishna explained that Garuda would leave Kaliya alone when he saw that Krishna had stamped his footprint into his head, and so when Kaliya returned to the sea Garuda did indeed spare Kaliya when he say Krishna's marking of his sparing Kaliya's life. 

Image: River Bank, Pixnio, source
Bibliography: Shri Krishna of Dwarka and Other Stories by C. A. Kincaid (1920), source

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