We all know the main story. Instead of going over the same ground, let us look at some elements in Krishna’s journey to understand how he became such an important deity in his own right.
Krishna was born to vanquish Kansa. Who was Kansa? (As told in the Bhagvata Purana) Krishna’s grandfather Ugrasena, the king of Mathura had a beautiful wife who bore him no children. One day she wandered the woods and in some strange twist of fate got separated from her companions. She was seen there by a rakshasa (variously identified as a descendent of Hiranyakashipu/Ravana) who took her husband’s form and from their union was born a son, Kansa.
He was a cruel child and was very adamant that his parents give up their worship of Rama and follow Shiva instead. When he did not do so, Ugrasena was dethroned and imprisoned and Kansa took his place. But under him Prithvi was burdened to the extent that she went to the king of the gods, Indra, for relief. He in turn went to Brahma who sent them to Shiva who sent them to Vishnu.
A small portion of his being is transferred to earth as Krishna. Now this is metaphorical, meant to show that the lord is truly boundless and we cannot really contain him in one form but this belief has fused into art and performance so that we have the vishwaroop (all universe resides in Krishna) concept.
In the stories of his boyhood, Krishna is shown as one who has great strength. He kills Putana, lifts the Govardhana, kills a demonic serpent bare handed and so on. All of these make for a heroic life, one that the other avataras (except Rama are not shown to have).
Another unique aspect of Krishna is that he is commonly worshipped together with Radha, who is not his wife but an older paramour. Despite her geographical moorings in central and North India, Radha is sung and worshipped in almost every state in the country. There are very few goddesses/literary characters that carry a similar countrywide currency. Krishna in his relationship with Radha is very different from the one we encounter as a boy-hero killing demons and monsters.
Finally in the Mahabharata, there is a different Krishna again. One who upholds dharma and is the close aide and confidante of the Pandavas. It is here that his divinity is firmly established and enforced as he is defined as the greatest god of all who contains the entire world within himself.
Story collected by: Arundhuti Dasgupta
Source: Hindu Mythology, Wilkins, W. J.
Image details: Wikipedia
