Janma-astami: The Day Lord Took Human Birth

Janma-astami: The Day Lord Took Human Birth

Siddhi B Ranjitkar

“Happy Janma-astami, May Lord Bless you,” Some people greeted each other in Kathmandu today, as today at the midnight Lord Krishna is to descend on this mundane world to correct all the evils and political corruption prevailing in the Hindu world. Lord Krishna has been the symbol of the victory of good over evil. Every Hindu household particularly the Vaishnavi household makes offerings to the crawling Krishna decorating as a child at home. Today starting early morning, Nepalese have been visiting the temples to Lord Krishna elsewhere in the Kathmandu Valley and specially the world-heritage Krishna Mandir in Patan. The visiting of the devotees continues today until midnight. The nine-day festival called Gunhu-punhi also ends today.

Even the deities have to take human incarnations to bring the law and order back in the Hindu society. On this very day called Janma-astami: the last day of the nine-day festival, two deities were born in the human forms to end the tyrannies prevailing in the Hindu world of that time. The nine-day festival started off on the Gunhu-punhi or Jani-purnima. The last day is Janma-astami. The day is for two deities to take human forms to destroy all evil spirits including Monarch Kamsa of Mathura. Kamsa represented the deadly evil in the Hindu world.

Kamsa took over as the monarch of Mathura imprisoning his father. He was a tyrannical monarch. He did not see anybody above him. He thought that he was only the supreme human and he could do everything. He disregarded all the Hindu scriptures and disbelieved all super power or super soul. He set his own norms to run the administration causing tremendous sufferings to the believers.

However, he had soft corner in his heart for his super beautiful sister called Devaki. He wanted to give her in marriage to the person equally smart matching her beauty. He found all those qualities in the prince Basudev. Sister Devaki and Basudev got wedded in the lavish royal style.

Kamsa himself took the newly wedded couple to the streets of Mathura driving a royal horse cart. While on the streets, the divine super soul descended as an ascetic on the street of Mathura, and stopped the cart Kamsa was driving, and warned Kamsa saying, “Kamsa, you are so happy with this newly wedded couple but the eighth son of the young lady will be the cause of your death.” Then, the ascetic disappeared.

Kamsa immediately took out his saber from the case and raised his hand to cut Devaki in two. Basudev stopped Kamsa committing a heinous crime holding his hand, and he pleaded Kamsa not to kill Devaki, as only the eighth child was the cause not her even believing the ascetic. He said, “We will give you all the children born of Devaki to you, and then do whatever you like with them.”

Kamsa cooled down, and started to think logically a little bit. He accepted the offer of brother-in-law Basudev, and he turned around the cart and drove it back to his palace. He ordered the prison officials to come to him. He ordered them to put both Basudev and Devaki in shackles, and imprisoned them within the seven cells, and to padlock all the cells with strong locks.

Thus, the newly wedded couple instead of going to the honeymoon landed in the cells in chains. The jail life has been the Basudev and Devaki’s worst nightmare. However, Devaki conceived a first child in the prison. As soon as the news of the Devaki’s pregnancy reached Kamsa, he intensified the prison security and he frequented the prison to see the progress of the Devaki’s pregnancy. He even increased his frequency of the prison visit, as the delivery date was approaching.

Kamsa ordered the prison officials, and said, “No matter when a child is born just inform me instantly.” He impatiently waited for the birth of a child. He had a little sleep at night waiting for the news of the childbirth in the prison cell. Devaki and Basudev had been just a helpless couple surviving at the mercy of the cruel and despotic Kamsa.

On one night a prison official ran to the palace, and breathlessly and emotionally said, “His Majesty, Devaki gave birth to a child.” Kamsa responded, “Yeah?” Kamsa grabbed his outer garment and hurriedly put it on, and ran to the prison cell. “Yeah, Devaki gave birth to a child.”

Kamsa snatched the child from Devaki. Kamsa was about to smash the child on the ground. Devaki made an emotional appeal to Kamsa for not harming the child but the brutal demonic Kamsa did not listen to his once-beloved sister. He took hold of the two feet together of the child and spun the child over his head and then he smashed the child on the prison wall splashing the blood everywhere. Kamsa laughed heartily.

Kamsa killed one child after another Devaki gave birth to in the prison. When the birth of the eighth child was approaching, Kamsa became even more nervous and concerned with the childbirth, and he ordered the jailers to be additionally alert not to miss informing him instantly the birth of the child, as this very male child would be the cause of his death, as the ascetic prophesized.

Devaki gave birth to an eighth child. Immediately, a divine voice in the prison said, “Basudev, take the child to Gokul and swapped the child with the girl child born there, and bring her back to the prison.” “How could I do what you said when I am here within the seven cells so strongly locked and so many jail guards have been guarding the prison,” said Basudev.  “Do just as I said, the rest, I will take care of.”

Basudev reluctantly took the male child and put him in a wicker basket and held it on his head, and went on to the prison gate. To his utmost surprise, the prison gate was opened automatically, all the guards were snoring heavily drowning any sound in the prison. He came out freely.

Basudev marched with the basket on his head as fast as he could. He came to the Yamuna River full of water as it was during the rainy season. He waded the waist-deep river but it went on rising as he waded.

The goddess of water called Ganga sensing the lord was in the basket, the river water went on rising to reach the lord. The water went up so high it was up to the neck of Basudev when he reached the middle of the river but he went on. The lord in the wicker basket Basudev was carrying on his head just lowered his right leg to touch the water. The River Goddess Ganga has the audience of the lord, and the water level immediately went down.

Basudev reached Gokul. All the doors and windows were wide opened up. Yasoda and Nanda-gopal were in their sound sleep. A girl child was born to them. Basudev kept the basket on the ground and took out the male child, and placed the child next to the mother Yasoda, and took the girl child and returned back to the prison. As soon as he was in the prison he lost the memory of what he had done, and where he had been.

The chief jailer went to the palace, and he said, “His Majesty, a girl child was born in the prison.” Kamsa was surprised very much. He thought for a minute the child should be a male. Anyway he hurried to the prison. He took the child from Devaki despite her emotional plead for saving the life of the innocent child.

Kamsa kicked off the hands of Devaki that had been holding the feet of Kamsa pleading him for the life of her eighth child. Kamsa held two feet together of the child and started spinning her over his head for smashing the child on the prison wall.

The child slipped of the hand of Kamsa and flew in the air. The child said, “Kamsa, you don’t have sufficient power to kill me but a male child called Krishna have been already born in Gokul to kill you.” Then the child disappeared.

Kamsa almost lost his balance and about to fall down but Basudev saved him from falling. Kamsa came to his sense. He thunderously shouted, and said, “How come, a child born in Gokul can kill me.”

However, Kamsa did not want to take any chance, and he decreed to kill all the children of up to the two years of age in Gokul. He called on one demon after another that could change to any animal or human as needed to send them in the mission of killing children in Gokul. One demon after another visiting Gokul succeeded to destroy numerous young children but not Krishna. Rather all the demons went to Gokul to kill Krishna lost their lives.

Krishna has been growing up as a regular child in Gokul. He has many playmates including the best one called Sudama that loved to bring with him the roasted broken rice to feed Krishna. All the playmates followed him wherever he went.

Krishna loved to eat cream. He along went his friends stole the cream from the neighboring houses. Every household stored the cream in an earthen pot hanging from the ceiling. To reach the cream pot, Krishna often rode on the human wall his playmates formed, and brought the pot down only to devour the cream in a second.

A woman caught Krishna stealing her cream. She grabbed him and tied him up by a rope to a nearby wooden pillar. She went to the Krishna’ mother, and complained of how Krishna stole her cream, and that was why she tied him up and fastened to a wooden pillar.

Krishna’s mother Yasoda rushed to the neighbor’s house but they did not find Krishna supposed to be tied up in ropes. When Yasoda left the house, the neighbor found Krishna in place. She was so surprised. She hurriedly freed Krishna, and let him go.

Then, it had been an open secrete that Kamsa wanted to end the life of Krishna. As Kamsa could not take the life of the young Krishna, he wanted to put an end to Krishna using any other possible means.

Kamsa invited Krishna to watch the wrestling match in Mathura ostensibly to amuse him but obviously with an aim of taking life of Krishna. It was his last attempt on the life of Krishna. Kamsa prepared ferocious looking powerful wrestlers to wrestle with Krishna and take the life of Krishna at the wrestling arena. A large stage was set in a stadium.

Krishna and his elder brother Balaram set off for Mathura despite mother Yasoda pleaded Krishna for not going, as she knew that Kamsa was simply setting Krishna to a death trap. Yasoda said, “My son, Kamsa wants to take your life. He must be simple setting a death trap for you in Mathura.” Krishna said, “Mom, You don’t have to worry about my life. I know what he is doing. I will be fine; nothing will happen to me, and my brother.”

Apparently, Kamsa was very happy to receive Krishna in Mathura on the occasion of the great wrestling match. Kamsa carefully hide his fear and concern for Krishna being the cause of his death. He set special seats for Krishna and Balaram in the stadium. All the high officials took their respective seats in the stadium to watch the wrestling match.

A great wrestling match went on among the famous wrestlers in Mathura. In the middle of the match, some of the wrestlers invited Krishna and Balaram to wrestle. Obviously, Kamsa had carefully planned all these acts. Balaram and Krishna cheerfully accepted the invitation to the wrestling match.

Both the brothers demonstrated their high skills in wrestling, and highly entertained the audience. They sent one wrestler after another out of the wrestling arena. Most of the wrestlers disabled and some of them even died.

Then came Kamsa himself down to the wrestling ground clearly with the intention of killing Krishna and Balaram. Kamsa believed that he could do the job with his powerful hands but he had been so weakened with his atrocities and royal corruption, Krishna and Balaram put Kamsa to death in no time.

Krishna went to the jail where he was born, and where his parents were still in shackles for their no faults but for the sins Kamsa committed. He freed them from both the shackles and the prison.

Then, Krishna went to the next cell to free his grandfather Kamsa had imprisoned. Krishna said, “Grandpa, go and take the kingdom you have lost to your son Kamsa.” “No, my grandson, you killed Kamsa and you earned the kingdom,” said the grandfather.

However, Krishna made his grandfather realized that he did not end the life of Kamsa for the kingdom. Krishna said, “Grandpa, I did not take the life of Kamsa for the kingdom but to end all sorts of the royal corruption and atrocities prevailing in Mathura.”

Krishna had a good life in Mathura. He was so charming whenever he was on the streets in Mathura women rushed to follow him. Unmarried women and married as well followed Krishna. Some husbands even complained about Krishna hypnotizing their wives and other women in Mathura.

Ending the life of Kamsa, Krishna has not completed his worldly mission. He has even more challenging tasks to complete in Hastinapur where Duryodhana: the son of born-blind Monarch Dhrittarastra has been causing havoc. Duryodhana played tricks on Pandavas: five brothers to send them to exile, and even attempting to take their lives burning down the Barnabate royal guesthouse where they are for the retreat.

Krishna was the chief architect of the battle of Kuruchhetra to decide who would have the Hastinapur kingdom, as Duryodhana did not want to settle the issue amicably.

When all the warriors of both sides stood face to face in Kuruchhetra ready to kill each other for gaining the Hastinapur kingdom, one of the five brothers Arjun: the most powerful warrior and would-be the deciding figure in the battle of Kuruchhetra seeing all the opponents were his friends, relatives, and teachers, he put down his bow and arrows, and refused to start a war for killing anyone of those standing opposite to him.

Then and there, Krishna took up the challenging task of convincing Arjun of he was not going to kill their souls but their physical bodies that had been foul because of their corrupt practices, and of the Arjun’s mission was simply to end the so much prevailing corruption in them. The Kuruchhetra war ended with the destruction of all warriors on both sides except for a few. That is a lesson for the war mongers.

The Hindu scriptures says Krishna is the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu clearly ignoring the female child that has challenged Kamsa and flew away from the prison cell in Mathura. The two divine souls one remained as Krishna another flew away immediately completing its mission are surely the part of the super soul that is the combined form of Shiva and Parvati that has taken innumerable forms in different names to end the evils in the human world.

With the celebration of the birthday of Lord Krishna, the nine-day festival called Gunhu-punhi ends. Nepalese have enjoyed a lot of entertainment during the nine-day festival. On the night of the ninth day, Nepalese make a portable stage on which a scene of Krishna and his spouses was depicted, and carried on shoulder poles round the town.

August 25, 2016