Aniket Raja
During that time, Mathura was in a miserable state as Kansa, brother of Devki, had put his father, King Ugrasen in prison and declared himself the new king. To put an end to such evils, Lord Vishnu decided to take birth in the human form. As such, at the wedding ceremony of Devaki and Vasudev, there was a divine prophecy which proclaimed that Vasudeva”s eighth son would kill Kansa. To protect himself, Kansa rushed to kill his sister but gave up the idea of killing after being assured by Vasudev that he will hand over all his children to Kansa. Kansa put his brother-in-law and sister in prison. Kansa killed all the six infants as soon as they were born. The seventh child (Balram) was saved due to divine intervention, when he was transferred from Devki”s womb to that of Rohini”s (other wife of Vasudev).
#advanceampadstable1#Even before her 8th child was born, Devaki and Vasudeva started lamenting its fate and theirs. One day Lord Vishnu appeared before them and said He Himself would be coming to rescue them and the people of Mathura. He asked Vasudeva to carry Him to the house of his friend, the cowherd chief Nanda in Gokula right after His birth, where Nanda”s wife Yashoda had given birth to a daughter.
He was to exchange his baby boy and bring Yashoda”s baby daughter back to the prison. Vishnu assured them that “nothing shall stop your path”.
At midnight on ashtami, the divine baby was born in Kansa”s prison. Remembering the divine instructions, Vasudeva clasped the child to his bosom and thought of moving to Gokula, but found that his legs were in chains. He jerked his legs and was unfettered! The massive iron-barred doors unlocked and opened up.
While crossing river Yamuna, Vasudeva held the baby high over his head. The rain fell in torrents and the river was in spate. But the water made way for Vasudeva and miraculously a five-mouthed snake followed him from behind and provided shelter to the baby.
When Vasudeva reached Gokula, he found the door of Nanda”s house open. He exchanged the babies and hurried back to the prison of Kansa with the baby girl. Early in the morning, all the people at Gokula rejoiced the birth of Nanda”s beautiful male child. Vasudeva came back to Mathura and as he entered, the doors of the prison closed on their own.
When Kansa came to know about the birth, he rushed inside the prison and tried to kill the baby. But this time it skipped from his hand and reached the sky. The child was transformed into the Goddess Yogamaya, who told Kansa: “O foolish! What will you get by killing me? Your nemesis is already born somewhere else.”
When is Janmashtami celebrated?
Janmashtami is celebrated on the eighth day of Shravan month to mark the birth of Sri Krishna, an avatar of Lord Vishnu. He took birth to kill Kansa, the unreligious demon king of Mathura to establish a kingdom of peace, prosperity and religion on earth and to spread the message of
brotherhood and humanity. Historians calculate the birth of Sri Krishna to the Dwapar Yug.
Krishna Janmashtami is also known as Ashtami Rohini, Srikrishna Jayanti, Krishnashtami, Saatam Aatham, Gokulashtami and sometimes simply as Janmashtami. The festival is generally observed on ashtami, the eighth day of the ‘Krishna Paksha of the month of ‘Bhadrapada’ as per the Hindu calendar.It falls usually in the months of August or September in the Gregorian calendar.
Children in His preaching to Arjun in the Holy Bhagavad Gita Sri Krishna says “Whenever the balance of the universe is disturbed by
external interference from any of its parts, then I reveal myself as the Power of eternal balancing.” So, it is assumed that the form of God will return to earth for the establishment of peace, religion and prosperity in society when required.
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