We Remember Krishna
Introduction
Lord Krishna is one of
the most important figures in the Indian
tradition. He appears, to greater and lesser extents, in the Harivamsa, the Mahabharata,
and the Bhagavata and Vishnu Puranas.
Krishna is the
object of devotion for many people, as can be seen in literature,
temples, and artwork. The name "KRSNA" in itself is considered
powerful, giving protection to the invoker in the mantra "Hare Krishna."
Because of his
popularity, there are many, many stories about Krishna.
For someone who has never heard these stories, the sheer number of
stories can be overwhelming and intimidating. Also, some of the
resources about Krishna are complex theological analyses. For the
beginning reader of Indian literature, this dry, academic work can make
reading about Krishna boring, not to mention confusing. Finally,
stories about the life of God can be intimidating when presented to the
reader as an example of how we should act. How can we learn anything
from the perfect behavior of a god?
For all these reasons, I
chose to tell these stories about Krishna from
the perspective of four people who knew him well. By approaching it
this way, instead of a third-person narrative, I hope we will get to
know Krishna in a better, more personal way.
The eighth incarnation of
Vishnu, the Preserver of the Universe,
Krishna was born to an imprisoned king and queen and raised by the
cowherders Nanda and Yasoda. Krishna grew up in a lovely, bucolic
setting, getting into mischief with his brother Balarama and playing
with the local girls, the gopis.
One of his closest companions was the gopi
girl Radha.
However, Krishna cannot stay in his childhood home
forever; he is destined to complete many important quests. He becomes
King of Yadava by defeating his evil uncle, the one who had imprisoned
his parents earlier. Of course, as king, Krishna requires a royal
consort; he rescues and marries the Princess Rukmini. Besides being a
just and honorable ruler, Krishna was also a warrior. He joined the
Pandava brothers in their epic struggle against the Kauravas, advising
Prince Arjuna and acting as his charioteer in the Battle of
Kurukshetra. Krishna then returned to rule his kingdom for the rest of
his life.
In the first story in
this collection, Mother Yasoda describes what
Krishna was like as a child. In her recollection, she punishes Krishna
for being disodient yet again. Just because he is a god does not mean
he can do whatever he wants!
To see Krishna as
a young man, we turn to Radha the gopi. Radha and Krishna played
together as children and later became lovers. Unfortunately, their love
is not meant to be, prevented first by social convention--Radha is
married to another man-- and then by Krishna's destiny to be a king and
warrior. Radha reveals another aspect of Krishna, as the youthful,
carefree lover, before he enters a more serious phase of his life.
Rukmini is the
perfect person to tell about Krishna as king. Like
Radha, Rukmini is an incarnation of Lakshmi, consort of Vishnu, so she
is destined to be with Krishna. Their union is not easy, however;
Krishna must win her by defeating her evil brother.
Finally, a story of Krishna as
a warrior is told by Arjuna, one of the
Pandava brothers. Krishna reveals himself to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, so Arjuna has a
front-row seat, as it were, to Krishna's manifestation of his divine
nature.
Arjuna is a witness to Krishna's heroic skill in battle and also his
devotion to righteousness.
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