Krishna Avatar (Eighth Avatar Of Vishnu) - Avatars Of Vishnu
Dashavatar represents the 10 different incarnations of Vishnu which were taken to save the earth and its living beings from destruction. The eighth incarnation of Vishnu is often debated to be between Krishna and his elder brother Balaram.
1. Krishna: The 8th Incarnation of Vishnu
But because Balaram is an incarnation of Adi Shesha, the serpert of Vishnu, Krishna is collectively accepted, as the 8th incarnation of Vishnu, Krishna is one of the most widely popular of all the Indian divinities, and became the focus of numerous Bhakti cults which have, over the centuries, produced a wealth of religious poetry, music, and painting. The basic sources of Krishna's stories are the epics, Mahabharata, and Bhagvat Puran. There came a time when mother earth was unable to bear the sins and cruelty committed by evil kings and Rulers mother earth then prayed to Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe to relieve her from the sinful kings.
2. Kansa killed every child of Devaki
Brahma prayed to the supreme Lord Vishnu for his reincarnation and to relieve earth from those evil rulers. Kansa the ruler of Mathura was one such evil king. He had a sister named Devaki who was married to Vasudeva. The day Devaki and Vasudeva got married a voice from the sky, forecasted that Devaki’s eighth son will bring an end to Kansas rule and will kill him. A frightened Kansa held the couple captive.
He then vowed that he will kill every child of Devaki and Vasudeva, seeing their first seven children being killed by the cruel Kansa. The imprisoned couple feared giving birth to their eighth child one night Lord Vishnu appeared before them. He told them that as their son, he will return and rescue them from Kansas, evil deeds.
3. The Eighth Child of Vasudeva and Devaki was Krishna
The divine baby was born and the day he was born, Vasudeva found himself magically freed from the prison. In a subconscious state of mind, he took the baby away from the prison and placed him in a safer place. Vasudev reached a house in Gokul exchanged Lord Krishna, with a newborn girl of Nanda and Yashoda, and returned to prison with a girl child.
As soon as Kansa came to know about the newborn, he again tried to kill the child, the infant ascends to heaven and transforms itself into the goddess Yogamaya and said: “O foolish Kansa what will you get by killing me? Your killer is already born”. Meanwhile, Krishna was raised as a cowherd in Gokul. The childhood of Lord Krishna is filled with stories of his mischievous pranks and incidents that depict his divine nature.
4. Lord Krishna Grew up in Vrindavan
According to a popular story, Krishna carried off a gigantic serpent Kaliya from the river to the sea. Shri Krishna also raised mount Govardhan with his little finger and kept it as an umbrella to shield Vrindavan's people from the torrential rain caused by Lord Indra, who was irritated by Krishna. He was popular amongst the Gopis of Vrindavan, especially Radha. Radha and Krishna grew up together, and their story often forms the Raslilla during his boyhood.
5. Lord Krishna Defeated Narakasura and married 16,000 Women
Due to an unexpected turn of events, the news confirming that Krishna was indeed the son of Devaki and Vasudeva broke out and Krishna had to leave for Mathura, leaving behind his other family of Nanda and Yashoda. On his return to Mathura, he killed Kansa and restored his father to power. After many years, considering the kingdom dangerous, he led the Yadavs to Kathiawar’s west coast and set up his Court in Dwarka. He married a beautiful princess from the Vidarbha kingdom named Rukmini. Lord Krishna married seven, other wives, Satyabhama, Jambavati, Kalindi, Nagnajiti, Mitravinda, Lakshmana, and Bhadra.
Krishna is also famous for having sixteen thousand wives. Upon killing the demon Narkasura, Krishna placed Bhagdatta on the throne and then freed all of Narkasura’s prisoners. Amongst the prisoners were 16,000 women whom Narakasura had captured, knowing that the society would not accept women who had been held captive by a demon for years, Krishna married the sixteen thousand women making them all their wives, and giving them a respectable place in the society.
6. Shri Krishna Stood by Pandavas
Shri Krishna became a counselor and a friend to Pandava Prince Arjuna. In the great war of Kurukshetra between the Kauravas and Pandavas, Krishna declined to bear arms. Still, he agreed to be present on one side of the army to avoid any kind of war between the cousins Krishna requested Kauravas to give a small amount of land to the Pandavas. Then Duryodhana, however, opposed any compromise. Krishna gave his dearest friend Arjuna a choice. Once the war became inevitable, either he could choose Krishna himself or he could choose the armies of Krishna. Arjuna preferred Shri Krishna’s presence instead of his troops, while Duryodhana chose the Narayani Sena or the army of Krishna.
7. Bhagavad Gita: Narrated by Lord Krishna
As the war began, Arjuna was moved by the thought of killing his family members and putting down his weapon. Lord Krishna, then advised him about the battle and its repercussions Karma the purpose of life and death, and the power of dharma. This conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna, soon extended into a discourse that was later brought together as Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita explains how an aspiring seeker could pursue a union with God-like previous Indian scriptures the Bhagavad Gita did not require renunciation of the universe but encouraged acceptance of the earth. Shri Krishna also revealed his universal form, known as the Vishvaswaroop to Arjuna, showing Arjuna his full spiritual realization. After this Arjuna, an admirer and relative of Shri Krishna became his disciple.
8. Gandhari Cursed Shri Krishna to Die
Sri Krishna represents all of the human and spiritual elements. He played a human role as an avatar, but at the same time, he was a fully realized spirit. Krishna met Gandhari after the battle of Kurukshetra was over to give her condolences as the Pandavas had won the battle and Gandhari had lost her hundred sons to death. Gandhari in her rage aggressively came up to Lord Krishna and poured her anger on him. According to her, the mass killing and the war could have been avoided by Krishna, but he did not.
Her grief turned into vengeance and she cursed Krishna that if her devotion towards shiva was pure and if she was true to her husband, all her life, then 36 years from that day, Krishna would die. His kingdom Dwarka would be flooded and the entire clan of Sri Krishna will be destroyed. In the same way, he made the Kauravas reach death. 36 years later, Gandhari's curse came true, Dwarka was consumed by the Arabian sea, the Yadav race went extinct, and Lord Krishna and Balaram had left the mortal world. Kali-yuga had arrived. The Pandavas felt that there was no purpose left for their existence.