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Stories From The Bhagawatham - Krishna Avatar - Balarama And Dhenukasur

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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 ...
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Stories From The Bhagavatham - Krishna Avatar - Brahma's Brahm - Part 3

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  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...
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Stories From The Bhagavatham - Krishna Avatar - Brahma's Brahm - Part 2

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  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 ...
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Stories From The Bhagavatham - Krishna Avatar - Brahma's Brahm - Part 1

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  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...
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Stories From The Bhagawatham - Krishna Avatar - Aghasura

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  (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 ...
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Stories From The Bhagavatham - Krishna Avatar - Vatsasur and Bakasur

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  Worried about the misfortune circling little Krishna and the kids, the elders of Gokul decided to leave the village and migrate to Brindavan, a cozy village nestled under the great Govardhan mountain range. The river Yamuna flowed nearby and the land was fertile. The people of Gokul soon settled here and lived a comfortable life. However, Krishna’s tryst with the Asuras didn’t end even after shifting places. Now that he was growing up, Kamsa sent more vicious Asuras to defeat and kill him. One day, Balaram and Krishna were playing by the banks of the Yamuna river, their cows grazing there. Unknown to them, an Asura named Vatsa took the form of a calf and quietly joined the herd in grazing. However, nothing can escape the notice of Krishna, He who has His sights on the entire universe. Krishna noticed the new calf and realized that this was no ordinary cow but an Asura in disguise. He stealthily informed Balarama about the Asura, not wanting to spread panic among the other kid...
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Stories From The Bhagawatham - Krishna Avatar - A 'Handful' Of Gifts!

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  Once Krishna was playing in the courtyard when he heard someone calling out, “Jambul fruits! Does anyone want Jambul fruits?” Krishna ran towards the door of his house and saw a lady outside, carrying a basket full of Jambul (Aranyaka) fruits. They looked very temptingly fresh. “These fruits look very fresh.” Krishna said to the lady. “Can you give me some?” The lady smiled. “Yes, I can give you some fruits. But you have to pay for them.” “What do you mean?” Krishna asked innocently. “You have to give me something in return for the fruits.” The lady explained. Krishna thought for a while. “I can give you some cereal grains. Will you give me fruits in exchange?” “Yes, I will give. You bring the grains.” The lady said and placed the basket on the ground while Krishna ran inside. He went to the storage room where grains had been kept inside sacks. Folding both his palms together, Krishna collected as much grains as he could in his small hands and ran towards the fruit-...
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