Kanhaland

Krishna storybook · Chapter 1:Krishna appears

Mother Earth’s prayer

Long ago, proud and unkind kings ruled the world, and Mother Earth went to Lord Brahma, crying.

Brahma prayed to the Lord, who answered, “Don’t worry. I am coming myself.”

Tell me more

She felt so heavy and sad that she took the form of a cow. The Lord said He would soon appear in the family of Vasudeva, and that the demigods should take birth in Vrindavan to serve Him there. In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna explains why He comes: to protect good people, to stop those who do harm, and to bring back the path of goodness.

A voice from the sky

On Princess Devaki’s wedding day, her brother, King Kamsa, proudly drove her chariot.

Suddenly a voice boomed from the sky, “Kamsa, Devaki’s eighth son will defeat you!”

Tell me more

Her husband was Vasudeva. Kamsa became furious and afraid. Kamsa wanted to harm Devaki right there, but Vasudeva calmed him with a promise: he would hand over every child born to them. Kamsa agreed, because he knew Vasudeva always kept his word.

Locked in a prison

Afraid, Kamsa locked Devaki and Vasudeva in a prison, with chains and guards.

Even there, they never stopped remembering the Lord.

Tell me more

Kamsa, full of fear, did not let Devaki keep her first six babies. This is one of the saddest parts of the story. Her seventh child, Balarama, was secretly moved by the Lord’s power, Yogamaya, to Vasudeva’s other wife, Rohini, who lived safely in Gokula.

Krishna appears at midnight

At midnight, the dark prison filled with light, and the four-armed Lord appeared.

Then He turned into a tiny baby, so that Devaki and Vasudeva could love Him as their son.

Tell me more

He held a conch, a disc, a club and a lotus flower, and they prayed to Him with joy. Krishna appeared on the eighth day of the dark half of the month of Bhadra, when the Rohini star was rising. Devotees celebrate this day every year as Janmashtami, fasting until midnight and then welcoming baby Krishna with songs, flowers and a feast.

Open the way

By the Lord’s power, every lock was ready to open.

Tap the chains and the door, then carry baby Krishna to Gokula!

Tap the chains and the door.

Across the Yamuna

The chains fell off, the doors swung open, and the guards fell fast asleep.

Vasudeva carried baby Krishna through the storm, with the serpent Ananta Sesha’s hoods as an umbrella.

Tell me more

Krishna had asked Vasudeva to carry Him to Gokula, and the Yamuna River made way for them. Ananta Sesha is a form of the Lord Himself who always serves Krishna; here he served as an umbrella to keep the rain off. The Yamuna, too, wanted to serve: her waters became shallow so that Vasudeva could walk across with his precious basket.

Safe in Gokula

In Gokula, Vasudeva laid Krishna beside Mother Yashoda while she slept.

In the morning, the village woke to wonderful news: Nanda Baba and Yashoda had a beautiful son!

Tell me more

Vasudeva carried Yashoda’s newborn baby girl back to the prison, and all of Gokula celebrated. The baby girl was Yogamaya, the Lord’s own power. When Kamsa came to harm her, she slipped from his hands, rose into the sky as a goddess, and told him that the one who would defeat him was already born somewhere else. In Gokula, Nanda Baba gave cows and gifts to everyone, and the cowherds splashed one another with milk, yogurt and butter in joy.

What we learn

  • When Mother Earth called out, the Lord came.
  • Nothing is stronger than the Lord, not even Kamsa’s chains.
  • We can remember the Lord in hard times, too.

Did you like this story? Say “Hare Krishna!” out loud.

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Retold from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 10, chapters 1–3. Placeholder pictures only.

All chapters of the Krishna storybook