Who Is Krishna?

The life of Krishna is divided up into three distinct parts. There’s the stories of the baby Krishna and his mischievousness and miracles, then there are the stories of the teenage Krishna and his way with the cow herding girls (gopis), and then there is the middle aged Krishna who guides Arjuna on the path to self-realization in the Bhagavad Gita. He is said to have been born in the summer of 3228 BCE (his birthday, Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated every summer by Hindus) and he died in 3102. The first story to know is the

birth of Krishna.

The evil king Kamsa overthrew his own father for the kingdom of Mathura. Hearing a prophecy that the eighth child of his sister, Devaki, would kill him, he imprisoned his sister and her husband, Vasudeva. Each time they had a child, the evil Kamsa would murder it. Devaki and Vasudeva prayed and at last Lord Vishnu appeared to them and told them that he himself would save them. When the eighth child is born, it is Vishnu in human form. With divine help, Vasudeva transports the child out of the prison, passing through many dangers and even through a sea that parts just for him, and switches the baby boy for a baby girl in the village of Gokula. When Kamsa attempts to kill this infant, she transforms into a goddess and tells him that his days are numbered. Krishna is raised by Nanda and Yoshoda in Gokula. Many stories are told about how he loved to sneak butter and got the nickname the butter thief (makkhan chor). In one story, Yoshoda sees baby Krishna eating sand and she rushes over to tell him to stop. She pries open his mouth to remove the dirt, but what she sees is the entire universe contained in his throat. In another story Yoshoda gets frustrated with Krishna’s mischief and tries to tie him to a tree, but every rope she tries is somehow not long enough. Krishna is the entire world and cannot be contained. Kamsa continues to hunt for the eighth child of Devaki, but Krishna defeats any demon sent for him. Eventually he faces his uncle and defeats him, restoring his grandfather to the throne of Mathura.
Next are the stories of

teenage Krishna.

As a young man, Krishna delighted all the local girls with his beautiful flute playing. While tending cattle, Krishna and his friends teased their female friends and played tricks on one another. Krishna was known for always being up for play. Many poems and songs are written about Krishna in this time of his life. One of the gopis in particular was his beloved. Her name was Radha. Poets for centuries have put themselves in Radha’s shoes and imagined themselves as the lovers of Krishna, awaiting his coming to them. This symbolizes the union of God and devotee. In particular, Mirabai is a poetess (For Love of the Dark One: Songs of Mirabai) known for her enormous devotion to Krishna and the stories say that her devotion saved her from the murder attempts her in-laws made against her.