Vedanam 2023

  One day, Krishna and his friends went towards the river Yamuna to graze their cows. It was a rare day when Balarama had not accompanied Krishna. The day was very hot. The cows wandered off in search of shade and few of Krishna’s friends followed the cattle. There was a lake named Madu, situated near the river Yamuna. A dreadful snake named Kaliya lived beneath the lake. He had polluted the water of the lake with his poison. So strong was the poison’s effect that it was said that even the birds which flew over Madu lake dropped dead due to the poisonous fumes emanating from the lake. The trees surrounding the lake had dried up. Krishna’s friends and their cows who had wandered off, reached the lake. Owing to unbearable heat and thirst, none of them paid attention to the lake whose water had turned black in color. They drank the water from the lake and within minutes, the children and their cows fell down in a faint. Krishna wondered why it was taking so long for his friends ...

Krishna and Balarama spent their childhood days in the forest with their friends, overlooking the cattle while also playing around. One fine day, as they were playing in the forest, their friends told Krishna, “There is a beautiful palmgrove very near to the forest. The date fruits there are ripe. Many fall to the ground while others cling to the palm trees. The aroma of the fruits tempts us to eat them but there is a wicked Asura named Dhenukasur who guards the palmgrove. He is cruel, eats human flesh, has a lot of guards to protect him and hence nobody dares to enter the palmgrove.” Krishna and Balarama looked at each other and smiled at the innocence of their friends. Wanting to get the date fruits for them, the brothers went to the grove. Balarama, the mighty one, shook the palm trees with his strong hands. Soon, the entire ground turned into a carpet of dates. The other children hurriedly started picking up the fruits. Hearing the commotion, Dhenukasur arrived there. This ...

  S Brahma in the meanwhile was having troubles of his own. After hiding the calves and the kids inside a cave, Brahma returned to his home in Satyaloka but was refused entrance by the doorkeepers. He was enraged. “I am Brahma!” He said angrily. “How dare you prevent me from entering my own home?” The doorkeepers laughed. “Our master is already inside. We don’t know who you are or why you are pretending to be him. If you don’t believe, come and see for yourself.” Brahma stepped inside and looked in confusion. There was already someone there, looking exactly as him. He was sitting in Brahma’s seat. Devi Saraswati calmly played the veena beside him. The hall was filled with music and everything went on as usual in Satyaloka. Brahma got really flustered and returned to Brindavan to see what was happening there. He was more confused when he saw all the kids and the calves in their homes, their days going on normally. He rushed to the cave to check whether his captives were st...

  Krishna stood for a moment and closed his eyes trying to understand what had happened. He had a vision that explained everything to him. Brahma, the creator, had witnessed the killing of Aghasura and wanted to further test the powers of Krishna. So he had captured the calves and hid them in a cave. When he saw Krishna leave his friends in search of the calves, Brahma took his friends too and placed them in the same cave. Krishna opened his eyes and smiled. “So, this is the work of Brahma.” He thought. It was time to let Brahma know that little Krishna was none other than Narayana. Krishna, the one, became many. He became every calf that was lost. He became every child that Brahma had captured. He not only assumed the looks of the children but adopted their individual traits. As the evening approached, the group left for Brindavan, Krishna as usual leading all the other mini-Krishnas. Each one left for their respective homes and were welcomed by their parents who couldn’t ...

  In the previous episode, we read about how Krishna killed Aghasura and saved his friends from death. The Bhagavatham mentions that these children went to their home and told their parents about Aghasura after a year. Why did it take a whole year for the children to tell their parents about Aghasura? Usually when something significant happens, children are most excited to inform their parents about the same. Then why did these children, the friends of Krishna, wait for a whole year to tell their parents about their dreadful tryst with Aghasura? The Bhagavatham mentions that a lot happened in a year, in the time gap between Aghasura’s killing and the children returning to their homes. After Aghasura was killed and all the children had been revived by Krishna, he took them to the banks of the river to divert their attention. He had performed many miracles in front of his friends and because of his maya, these events didn’t stay long in the human minds. Aghasura had been indeed...

  (Image credited to respective owner) Once, Krishna planned to spend a whole day in the forest with his friends. “I will bring my flute and trumpet.” He told his friends. “You all bring whatever you wish to. We will play music and games and have a glorious day in the forest.” His friends all agreed, already getting excited. The next day the whole group left for the forest with their calves and cows. Krishna led the gang, playing music on his flute. The boys kept an eye on their cows while also enjoying themselves – weaving garlands out of wild flowers found there, applying the powder of pink shells found on the banks of the river and playing pranks on each other. Needless to say, Krishna was the wildest in the group, running ahead and teasing his friends to catch him and then getting caught and rejoicing with his friends. How blessed were the friends of the Krishna, for whom the Lord of the Universe took a human form, played with them and filled their days and their lives ...