Vedanam 2023

  (Image credited to the respective owner) One day the children of Gokul were playing blissfully with Krishna and Balaram. Yashoda was in the midst of a household chore when Balarama came running and said, “Mother! Krishna is eating mud! A lot of mud!” Yashoda looked at Balaram, wondering whether to believe this mischievous boy or not. But the other children came running to her and everyone said the same thing. Krishna had apparently eaten a lot of mud. Yashoda went running to Krishna and caught hold of him. “When will your mischief end?” She asked him angrily. “Did you eat mud? Today I am going to punish you.” Krishna shook his head, “No, mother. I did not eat mud. I do not like it, so why would I eat it?” “But your friends, why, your brother himself said that you ate mud!” “They are lying.” Krishna said. “Look for yourself. Check inside my mouth and you will know who is telling the truth and who is lying.” “Show me your mouth!” Yashoda said angrily. Krishna opened...

  Little Krishna was now already 3 months old and the darling of Gokul. On the eve of his nakshatra (birth star), Yashoda and Nanda decided to host a celebration in the village along with some chanting of sages. Accordingly everyone gathered at the banks of the Yamuna river, where amidst music and dancing, Krishna was given a holy bath and gifts were distributed by Nanda to the villagers. Soon, Krishna appeared to be tired and sleepy. Yashoda placed him inside a cradle and kept the same beneath a cart. After a while, Krishna woke up but Yashoda wasn’t nearby. She was talking to the villagers and couldn’t hear his cries. Little Krishna, in anger, started flailing his legs and kicked the cart. All of a sudden, a huge noise erupted and startled everyone. People came running and saw the cart flung away at a good distance, as if someone had thrown it. All the vessels kept inside the cart were thrown out and broken and one of the wheels had come off. No one could understand what ha...

  (Image credited to the respective owner) Every day in Gokul became a celebration after the arrival of Krishna and Balaram. Yashoda and Rohini had their hands full, looking after their children and enjoying their childhood antics. Chief Nanda had to make a yearly visit to Mathura to pay his tributes to the city’s treasury. When Vasudeva came to know that Nanda had come to the city, he rushed to meet him. “I am very happy to know that a son has been born to you.” Vasudeva said to Nanda. “You are very dear to me but I do not get to see you as often as I wish. I am fortunate to share your happiness at being a father. You and I are like one soul in two different bodies. Your son feels like my son. I hope he is well.” Nanda’s eyes welled up as he knew about the fate of Vasudeva’s children. “Fortune has not been kind to you. But I hope times will change now. The wise do not get swayed by fortune and misfortune and stay firmly rooted in the ultimate knowledge of the self.” “Nanda...

  The palace resonated with the sounds of a newborn baby. The guards outside the cell ran to Kamsa and informed him that Devaki had given birth to another baby. Kamsa was lying on his bed but wasn’t asleep. He and sleep had parted ways long ago. Ever since he had come to know about Devaki’s eighth pregnancy, he had lost his peace. The radiance surrounding Devaki during this pregnancy left him no doubts that this infant was the prophesied one, the one that could bring his downfall. The moment he heard the news, he rushed out of his bed, grabbing his sword with him, and ran to the prison. Devaki looked at him in terror, for this time, Kamsa looked like the lord of the death, having a terrible look on his face. She fell at his feet. “Brother, this is a girl! Spare her life! I gave you each and every one of my sons, and you killed them all. What will this baby do? I was once dear to you, brother, and in the name of that love that you had for me, I beg of you to spare this child...

  (Image credited to respective owner) At midnight, a gentle breeze blew, bringing with it the fragrance of exotic flowers. The spiritually-inclined could hear music wafting from the celestial realms –divine Dhundubhi being played, the Gandharvas and Kinnaras singing, and the apsaras dancing. Flowers fell on the earth from the very heavens and under such auspicious circumstances, Maha Vishnu incarnated on the earth as the child of Vasudeva and Devaki. Vasudeva looked at the divine infant in silent wonder and amazement. Any doubts he had about the divinity of his child vanished as he took in the sight of the infant –lotus-shaped eyes, chaturbhuja roopam with the shanka, chakra, gadha and Padmam in each of his hands,the mark of Srivatsa on his chest, the Kaustubha jewel gleaming on his neck and the yellow silk draped around him. The infant was dark but radiated light with his crown and ear-rings shaped like a fish. Vasudeva kept gazing at the infant until he remembered that he ha...

A child was born to Devaki and Vasudeva after a year. They named him Kirtiman. With a heavy heart, Vasudeva carried the child to give him to Kamsa. “Here is my first born, as I had promised.” Kamsa was pleased with Vasudeva’s sense of honor and gave the child back to him. “Please take him back. I am not going to kill this child. I have been told that it is your eighth child who will kill me. I do not have to kill your first-born.” Vasudeva carried the child with him, not entirely satisfied, for he knew that people like Kamsa could change their mind in an instant. How different would have been the history of the world if Kamsa’s actions had stopped here! Rishi Narada visited Kamsa and shared with him the news about a place called Gokula. “The cowherds there, whose leader is Nanda and the numerous yadavas and their wives are all  devas  born on the earth on the command of Maha Vishnu.” The sage told Kamsa. “The only purpose of their arrival on earth is the destruction of the Asu...