The story of Lord Krishna, the Supreme Deity.

 Who is Lord Krishna?

Lord Krishna is the eight incarnation or avatar or Lord Vishnu (Maha Vishnu). He is one of the most popular Gods in Hinduism. He is considered as the supreme deity, worshipped across many traditions of Hinduism in a variety of different perspectives. He is the God of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love. Krishna's birthday is celebrated every year by Hindus on Krishna Janmashtami that is according to the lunisolar Hindu calendar, which falls in late August or early September of the Gregorian calendar. Each incarnation of Lord Vishnu on the Earth is with a purpose.


Yada yada hi dharmasya glanirbhavati bharata
Abhyuthanamadharmasya tadatmanam srijamyaham
 Paritranaya sadhuna vinashay cha dushkritam
Dharmasansthapanathay sambhavami yuge yuge...

This is a Sloka said by the Supreme Deity, Shri Krishna to Arjun during the 'Mahabharat'. The meaning of the slok is:

Whenever there is decay of righteousness, O Bharata (Arjun),

And there is exaltation of unrighteousness, then I Myself come forth;

For the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil doers,
For the sake of firmly establishing righteousness, I am born from age to age.

The same lines in Hindi:

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत ।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥


परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् ।
धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥


इस श्लोक में श्री कृष्ण कहते हैं,

 “जब-जब इस पृथ्वी पर धर्म की हानि होती है और अधर्म आगे बढ़ता है, तब-तब मैं इस पृथ्वी पर अवतार लेता हूँ
सज्जनों और साधुओं की रक्षा के लिए, दुर्जनो और पापियों के विनाश के लिए और धर्म की स्थापना के लिए मैं हर युग में अवतार लेता हूँ|”


Why did Lord Vishnu take the Avatar of Shri Krishna?
According to legend, Krishna's Avatar appeared during the Dwapar Yug. The Avatar of Krishna is regarded as a "Poornavatar" that is an avatar in which all the attributes of Lord Vishnu are fully displayed. The way he attracted followers was truly amazing, and it seemed to be magnetic. He is a preacher of Karm Yoga and a perfect example of Karm Yogi himself!

In the Dwapar Yug, the demon-like Kamsa (Kans) overthrew his father, King Ugrasena, and took control of the Yadav clan's realm of Mathura. 
He became very strong and both the celestial beings and humanity on the earth suffered greatly under his tyrannical rule. 
Lord Vishnu then decided to take an Avatar on earth to destroy the evil forces commanded by Kans after being moved by the sincere prayers of the suffering people. Lord Vishnu manifested as Lord Krishna to destroy adharm and himsa, and establish dharm and ahimsa.



At the time of Kans' sister Devaki's marriage with Vasudev, he heard from a Divine voice that his sister's eighth child would kill and end his life. On hearing thus, Kans imprisoned Devaki and Vasudev soon after their marriage and killed seven of her children as they were born. When Devaki gave birth to her eighth child, Shri Krishna, he gave darshan in his four-handed Narayan form to Mother Devaki. On the request of Devaki, Krishna resumed his two-handed form as a child. Lord Narayan had instructed Vasudev to take him (Krishna) to Gokul, and that all the locked and protected doors of the prison cell will be open and unguarded. What was said had happened, and Vasudev took Krishna out of the prison without any difficulty.
It was a dark night with heavy pouring, and the flooded Yamuna waves rose very high! A thousand-headed serpent, Adi-Shesh, appeared suddenly and raised his hood to form an umbrella to protect Vasudev and the eighth Avatar of Lord Vishnu- the newly born baby, Krishna.  Lord Vishnu rests on Adi-Shesh. Ādiśeṣa is a serpentine demigod and Nagraj, as well as a primordial being of creation in Hinduism. In the puranas, Shesh is said to hold all the planets of the universe on his hoods and constantly sings the glories of Lord Vishnu from all his mouths.
There was a miracle- River Yamuna lowered her water, providing a smooth path for Vasudev to carry Krishna safely to Gokul, to his friend Nanda's house. Nand's wife, Maa Yashoda had also given birth to a girl, Yogmaya. Vasudev exchanged the children and brought the baby girl back to prison.

When Kans learned that the eighth child had been born, he went to the prison as usual. However, as he lifted the child to kill it, Yogmaya managed to escape and flew away laughing aloud, proving that the kind had been duped and that the child intended to kill his was actually alive and was somewhere else.

The childhood of Lord Krishna:
Nand and Yashoda were not aware that Lord Krishna was the exchanged child of Vasudev, and they loved him deeply. Lord Krishna, in his childhood days was extremely naughty and was used to conduct various mischief. However, the whole village was enchanted by the maya of the supreme and none of them could be angry at him. Purans describe his as the most beautiful child as the mystic appearance, and enchanting ability. Lord Krishna was very fond of eating makhan, and used to steal it with Balram and many of his friends.

In Matura, Kans found out that Krishna was living in Gokul. He then started sending demons to do his bidding and kill the supreme, however, every time Lord Krishna killed the demons that were sent to kill his. Putana, Shakastasur, Vatsasur, Bakasur and Aghasur are some of the demons that were sent by Kans to kill Lord Krishna. However, they all died at the hands of the lord while trying to follow the order of their king, Kans.
Krishna's village, Gokul was dependent on agriculture. the men of the village did agriculture, the boys used to look after the cattle herd and women used to the household works. Lord Krishna, being a boy used to look after and take care of the cattle. He used to do a lot of mischief in Gokul along with his elder brother Balram, and few of his friends.

Lord Krishna used to Love Radha. He did not love anyone as much as he loved Radha. Their love was so inordinate that even though in the end they were not together, they are regarded as the symbol of love. Even to this date, the idol or picture of Lord Krishna is made together with Radha.


How did Lord Krishna kill Kans?
After every attempt to kill Lord Krishna had failed, Kans thought of deploying the two popular wrestlers Chanura and Mushtika for the job. He called his advisor and told him to make a plan so that Lord Krishna agrees for a wrestling match with Chanura. Kans trusted Chanura's skill as a wrestler and believed he would be able to kill him. Chanura had a big and bulky body with enormous flesh and width. He puts his entire weight on his opponents to crush their bodies and win the match. This is the main reason for him to become a great champion.
When the match began, Chanura challenged everybody in the audience. Lord Krishna and Balram were standing amongst the crowd. As Chanura spotted him, he invited him for the wrestling match, saying that Krishna's wrestling moves were very popular. However, everybody rejected the idea, because Krishna was young and Chanura was a man with a heavy and bulky body. 
Chanura tried to make Krishna angry by taunting him in every way so as to make him angry, so he enters the wrestling ring. Even after all the taunts, Krishna would smile at Chanura and give befitting replies for he knew that the invitation was intentional. 
Chanura, out of anger told Krishna that he was not a man if he did not come for the match. To this, Krishna said that without his father's permission, he would not accept the challenge. After taking the permission of his father, Krishna went inside the wrestling ring.
In the meanwhile, Balram was invited by Mushtika in the wrestling ring, and he too, went in the ring. Krishna's acceptance of Chanura's challenge was an indication for Balram to accept the challenge from Mushtika and get inside the wrestling ring. Withing a few minutes, Balram broke Mushtika's neck and won the match.
While on his side, Krishna danced from one side to another in the ring, which did not allow Chanura to get hold of him. This continued for some time as Lord Krishna was aware that the only strength of Chanura was his massive weight, and that he would be tired of running after him and will lose control over his bulky body. The same happened, and grabbing the opportunity, Krishna jumped on Chanura and broke his neck.
Kans the realized that once these wrestlers who were his last escape to safety from Lord Krishna were dead, he would be the next on the die at Krishna's hand, so he organized a small army for his protection for such uncertainty during the event. 
When both the wrestlers Chanura and Mushtika were dead, he ordered the army to attack the Yadavs. 
Within some time, a fight began between his army and the Yadavs.
When Krishna came to know about the war, he decided that something had to be done. On the other side, Kans came running towards Krishna with a sword in his hand to kill him. Voluntarily, Krishna took a great leap and jumped behind Kans. He caught hold of Kans' hair and pulled him backwards. Because of this, Kans lost hold of the sword and collapsed down, Krishna picked up the sword and cut off Kans' head. 
Having killed Kans, he took the conch that Kans wore around his neck and blew it in order to declare victory.
The crowd then settled down and the son of Devaki and Vasudev killed Kans, as the prophecy had said.
Many people started singing and celebrating the death of Kans. Lord Krishna, however, stopped the crowd from doing so and said that he had done what needed to be done, which was according to the prophecy. Kans was their king, and the death of a king should not be celebrated by his subjects.


Lord Krishna's role in Mahabharat
Mahabharat is the most devastating wars in the Hindu history. 1.66 billion people died in Mahabharat, according to Hindu scriptures. 
Mahabharat was the result of a great dispute between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, Pandavs were the son of Pandu, who was the king of Hastinapur, but because he killed Maharishi Kindam accidently, thinking that he was a deer, Pandu exiled himself to the forest and stepped down from the throne. Pandu's elder brother Dhritarashtra was made the king of Hastinapur after Pandu left for the forest. The Kauravas were the sons of Dhritarashtra. The Pandavs and Kauravas were brothers, they were related by blood but the struggle for the throne of Hastinapur made them enemies.
In Mahabharat, there were numerous characters, and due to their active tole, the war happened. Pandavs, Kauravas, Mama Shakuni, Bhishma, Vidur, Dronacharaya, Ashwatthama, Karna, Draupadi, Dhritarashtra and Satyavati, all had their active role for leading to the massive war. The biggest and most significant role was of Lord Krishna. Without him, neither would the war have happened, nor would the Pandavs turn victorious (Vijayata).

The relation between Lord Krishna and Draupadi 
Draupadi was the daughter of Drupad, the king of Panchal. Draupadi was gifted by God as the princess of Panchal, Drupad had got twins from his Yagya, Dhrishtadyumna and Draupadi.
Draupadi was the wife of the five Pandavs, Yudhishtir, Bheem, Arjun, Nakul and Sahadev. The five Pandavs may be her husband, but it was Arjun who had won her heart in her Swayamvar with his great skills in archery.

Shakuni (maternal uncle of Duryodhan) and Duryodhan (the eldest son of Dhritarashtra) played a game of dice with the Pandavs, in which they tampered with the dice and won everything from the Pandavs. Their Kingdon, Wealth and Palaces were taken from them, including their Freedom. 

Duryodhan and Dushyaasan (second eldest son of Dhritarashtra) tried to insult Draupadi by disrobing her in front of the whole court in Hastinapur. Lord Krishna was the one the save her from the insult, with his splendid Maya. Because of the misbehavior with Draupadi, the war happened between the Pandavs and the Kauravas.

Lord Krishna and Draupadi were sworn friends, who had promised to help each other in every part of their lives. Krishna always adored and cared for Draupadi. In every part of her life, when she faced problems, lord Krishna was the one who would always stand with her, in her side to help her. He always fulfilled his duty and completed the oath they took when they became friends.



The relation between Lord Krishna and Arjun
Arjun was the third son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti. He is also the song of lord Indra, that makes him a Demigod. Prince Arjun is known for his bravery, fearlessness as a warrior and the strength he possessed as an archer.  
Arjun was interested in archery since his childhood. Arjun was the main reason they won the war. It was Arjun who had defeated the great warriors like Bhishma, Karna and Dronacharaya. These three warriors were on Duryodhan's side and were undefeated in the entire lifetime. All three were so skilled that people used to think that they are invincible. With their strength, weapons and boons (vardans), Duryodhan was sure that they will win the war. However, Arjun defeated all of them and won the war. 

When Arjun met Lord Krishna, he was enchanted by his Knowledge (Gyan), Strength (Taakat), Righteousness (Dharm) and Divine Charm (Divya Aakarshan).

After getting to know Krishna, very soon Arjun became Krishna's dearest friend. Whenever Arjun faced hardships in his life, he went to Lord Krishna so that Krishna can enlighten him and show him the right path to life. Arjun was devoted to Krishna, and Krishna also loved Arjun deeply. 

The Invitation for the war to Krishna

Lord Krishna was invited for the war by both the Pandavs and Kauravas. Everyone was aware of his strength and how powerful his divine weapons were. Lord Krishna told them that if he were to take part in the war, he will not raise any weapons, as if he raised his hand in the war, it would end in seconds. However, he said that he will go in the war as a charioteer and thar both the Pandavs and the Kauravas were free to choose him (Krishna) or their armies. Then Arjun choose Krishna and Duryodhan choose his army.

The Gita knowledge to Arjun by Lord Krishna 
The war of Mahabharat was inescapable and both the armies were facing each other. Arjun, however refused to raise his arms, as the ones whom he was going against was his own blood. Then Krishna gave eternal knowledge to Arjun. Krishna showed his eternal form to Arjun and told him that there was nothing in the entire universe more superior than him. In Every single atom, Krishna is present. He is the Supreme God.
Krishna revealed all the mysteries of the universe, which encouraged Arjun to fulfill his duties in the world. The knowledge and revealing that Lord Krishna gave Arjun is written in the Bhagvad Gita, it is the holiest and most sacred book in India and the entire Hindu religion.

Kurukshetra: The battlefield
Kurukshetra was the battlefield of the great war of Mahabharat. The war was fought for eighteen days. The destruction of life that took place in that war was very enormous, as there were many deaths, and that environment was very sorrowful. Many divine weapons were used by the warriors who were involved in the war.

Due to Krishna's planning and suggestions, the war ended in the favor of Dharm. There were great warriors like Bhishma and Drona, Bhishma was given a vardan by his father, Shantanu that he could die at his own will. Dronacharya was a great warrior with impenetrable protection, yet all became useless due to Krishna's planning. 

Arjun defeated all those great warriors, but without Krishna's advice for all situations, it would not have been possible.

After eighteen days of the great war of Mahabharat, there were twelve people who survived. The twelve warriors were Krishna, Arjun, Nakul, Bhim, Yudhishtir, Nakul, Sahadev, Satyaki, Kritavarma, Ashwatthama, Kripacharya and Vrishaketu.

There were more people, like Dhritarashtra, Mata Kunti, Draupadi, Gandhari, Vidur...etc. who had survived but they had not actively participated in the war.






After the Mahabharat

After Mahabharat, Yudhishthir was crowned as the king of Hastinapur. Queen Gandhari, the wife of Dhritarashtra lost her sons in the war, and she help Krishna as responsible for the destruction. According to her, with all the powers and abilities of Lord Krishna, he could have stopped the war before it even took place. He could have saved all of them from the destruction, but he did not do so. Gandhari then cursed, Krishna with a wounded heart, that he would experience the agony of losing an entire clan just like she did. She said that the Yadav dynasty will cease to exist.

Her curse materialized after thirty-six years of the war. There was a civil war in Dwarika.

Lord Krishna and Balram were really disappointed with the war. Balram went to the forest, but Krishna asked Daruka and Babaru to go to Hastinapur and bring Arjun so that he can take all the women who were not a part in the war to Hastinapur safely. But both Daruka and Babaru got killed by the blade of grass that falls on them. Krishna then resorted this responsibility to his father, Vasudev. Vasudev then sent one of his men to inform the entire proceedings of the Yadavs destruction to Arjun and make him come to Dwarika immediately. Krishna informed all the women that Arjun will soon come to take them to Hastinapur, and that he will now retire to the forest for meditation. The Yadav women cry for Krishna. Krishna consoles them and starts his journey towards the forest. He foresees that Dwarika will soon sink into the water. On his way, he sees a serpent emerging from Balram and reaching into the ocean. In this way, Balram gives up his Avatar as Balram and returns to Vaikunth Dham in the form of Sheshnag.

After witnessing Balram, Lord Krishna sat under a tree in yogic meditation with his head down and legs upward. Krishna was thinking about his past... How he killed Kans, how he killed various other demons, the destruction of the kuru race in the Kurukshetra war and Gandhari's curse on him and the people in Dwarika. He realized that the destruction of the Yadav race was in accordance with Gandhari's curse and the curse of the great Rishis. He thought that the entire purpose of his birth on earth was completely fulfilled, and now it was his time to return back to Vaikunth Dham. In the meantime, the hunter Jara was passing by. The hunter looks at Krishna's feet and mistakes it as the face of a deer. He then aims at Krishna's feet and shoots an arrow, which hits Krishna's left foot. The hunter comes towards Krishna, thinking that he is a deer and realizes that it was Lord Krishna, not a deer. He realizes his mistake and pleads Bhagwan Krishna for forgiveness of his sin. Lord Krishna consoles him and says that in his previous birth, he was Shri Ram, in Treta Yug and Ram had killed Bali, (Sugreev's brother) from behind. So, Krishna has now reaped the Prarabdh for the same Karm thorough Jara, who was King Bali in his previous birth. 

After this, Bhagwan Krishna left the mortal world and returned back to Vaikunth Dham, as the Supreme, Lord Vishnu. The exact time from which Krishna left for Vaikunth is considered to be the beginning of Kaliyug.






This was the story of lord Krishna, the reason why he incarnated as Krishna, and all the Goals he achieved in his life.
































































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