Lord Krishna had convinced everyone in the village to offer prayers to Govardhan Hill instead of Lord Indra. He took the lead and said, “Prepare a variety of dishes from sweets to savouries. Collect all the available milk for offering. Bring the holy men well-versed in Vedas to perform the ceremony. Arrange a huge feast […]
Nanda explained to Lord Krishna very calmly. He said, “We are getting ready to offer a prayer service to Lord Indra, the lord of rains. Our wealth is cattle and for their food, we require fresh grass, which grows on the hills, only because of rain. So, for timely rains we offer prayers to Lord
The villages of Gokul and Vrindavan had an age-old custom. Every year, all the people offered grand prayers to Lord Indra, the god of rains, to provide the much-needed rain. That year again, everyone in the village was busy preparing for the event. Amused by this, Lord Krishna wanted to know what was happening. He
Balarama struck the evil demon Pralamba on the head with all his might. Balarama was also an incarnation of Lord Vishnu just like Lord Krishna. So, Balarama had divine strength in his veins, and when he struck the blow on Pralambasura’s head, it was like the impact of a thousand punches. Facing such a powerful
Meanwhile, one of Kansa’s friends, an evil demon Pralamba, soon located Lord Krishna and Balarama. He disguised himself as a villager and went to Vrindavan to destroy the two brothers. He joined the other cowherds and played a wrestling match with Balarama. The rule of the game was that the loser had to carry the
As demon Dhenuka, who claimed the tala grove, remained motionless on the ground after Balarama had attacked him, the other daityas roared in anger. “This mere boy has killed our beloved Dhenukasura,” cried one of the daityas. “Let us teach both the boys a lesson.” Saying this, all the donkey-shaped demons charged towards the two
Balarama and Lord Krishna entered the tala grove. It appeared deserted. Both of them picked fruits from the trees. Suddenly, one of the fruits fell to the ground with a loud thud. The sound of the falling fruit broke the uneasy silence in the grove. This alerted demon Dhenuka who guarded the grove. The two
The cowherds at Vrindavan would often long for fruits from the tala trees in a grove. They also wished they could leave their cattle there to graze. But this was not possible because a daitya (demon) named Dhenuka lived there. Dhenuka was a demon, who looked almost like a donkey but ate a deer’s meat.
Kaliya’s wives, his family and relatives began to thank Lord Krishna. Kaliya said, “I am leaving the waters of the Yamuna with a blessing, all because of Your mercy, O Lord. Now, I can return to the mighty ocean, where I belong.” His duel with Lord Krishna had led to Kaliya’s defeat. But Lord Krishna’s
Lord Krishna decided to rid River Yamuna of Kaliya. “Kaliya, you must leave the waters of the Yamuna forever. You cannot remain here and poison these waters. The passers-by, birds as well as trees are suffering the ill-effects of the venom you spread in the water,” said Lord Krishna. Hearing this, the mighty Kaliya started
The king of the serpents bowed down to Lord Krishna. “Kaliya, I have decided to spare your life,” Lord Krishna said. Kaliya and his wives started to thank Lord Krishna. “Do not thank Me, for it is My nature to spare the lives of those who truly repent for their evil ways. As you have
As Lord Krishna danced on Kaliya’s mighty hood, Kaliya felt immense pain. He trembled with terror to realise that he was about to meet with his end. ‘If I do not beg for mercy now, I will surely die,’ thought the king of the serpents. The mighty serpent also understood that the young boy dancing
Lord Krishna attacked the Mighty Serpent King. He brought Kaliya’s hood down and climbed on it. “Krishna, my son; please be careful!” cried out an anguished Yashoda. Thus began the dance of Lord Krishna on the hood of the king of serpents, Kaliya. Kaliya was squeezed under the weight of Lord Krishna and was almost
All the snakes along with Kaliya tried to poison Lord Krishna. Wherever He swam, the snakes surrounded Him and tried to bite Him. Their red eyes shone with anger and they hissed with malice as they circled Him. However, Lord Krishna was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and so the snakes could not overcome him.
Soon, Lord Krishna reached the banks of River Yamuna. He climbed up the kadamba tree and jumped into the water. Just as He dived into the water, the poisonous water splashed on the tree and burnt it. As Lord Krishna was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, His blue body was undamaged by the venomous waters.