Janmashtami — The Epic Story Of The Birth Of Lord Krishna

As Janmashtami is believed to be the day of birth of Lord Krishna, it becomes important to recall the epic tale of the birth of Lord Krishna — Here's the story of Krishna Janmashtami. 

Krishna Janmashtami 2022

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Janmashtami Celebrations: Around the country, people are preparing to celebrate the holy festival of Krishna Janmashtami with full zeal. On Ashtami Tithi of Krishna Paksha in the month of Bhadrapad, a Hindu celebration commemorating Lord Krishna's birth anniversary is held every year. Janmashtami, as popularly known, is also called Gokulashtami, Shrikrishna Jayanti, and Krishna Janmashtami.

This year will mark Lord Krishna's 5249th birth anniversary, according to the Vedic calendar. On this day, worshippers honour Lord Krishna, devotees observe fasts, go to temples, make special meals, decorate their houses and places of worship, and more.

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As Janmashtami is believed to be the day of birth of Lord Krishna, it becomes important to recall the epic tale of the birth of Lord Krishna. 

Story Of Krishna Janmashtami: 

The birth story of Lord Krishna begins on the day that his parents, Vasudeva and Devaki, were married. Due to his affection for his sister, Devaki's brother Kamsa (or Kansa) made the decision to drive the bride and groom's chariot on their wedding day. A voice from the sky announced to Kamsa that Devaki's eighth child would be his assassin as he led the chariot carrying Devaki and Vasudeva out of the bridal hall.

Being a superstitious person, Kamsa wouldn't take any chances. He intended to kill Devaki then and then. Vasudeva stepped in and implored Kamsa to save Devaki's life and show some mercy. In addition, he assured Kamsa that in exchange for letting Devaki live, he would give them custody of any kid born to them. Now that he had consented, Kamsa decided against putting them under arrest since he didn't want to have his sister's blood on his hands.

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The guards would alert Kamsa whenever a child was born, and he would then take the newborn and kill it. This is how six of Devaki and Vasudev's children perished. When the seventh child unexpectedly arrived at night, Devaki and Vasudeva saw an opportunity and decided to try to save the child.

Some stories suggest that the seventh child of Devaki and Vasudeva was Balrama, who was sent to the other wife of Vasudeva named Rohini, while other stories suggest that Vasudeva quickly slipped out of the palace unobserved because the guards were asleep. He swiftly rushed back to the palace after leaving the infant with his second wife Rohini in the nearby Gokul. He informed Kamsa of the stillbirth early in the morning. The fact that the following child was expected to kill him made Kamsa happy. Vasudeva and Devaki were imprisoned in the dungeon with chains because Kamsa didn't want to risk the birth of the eighth child.

On Ashtami Tithi of Krishna Paksha in the month of Bhadrapad, the eighth child was born. The sky was thundering and it was pouring heavily, as though the gods were attempting to honour the newborn child. Then the miracle occurred; Vasudeva's chains were released, and the prison door automatically opened. When Vasudeva discovered the guards were dozing off, he made the decision to take the newborn and flee, leaving him at the home of his friend Nanda in Gokul.

Vasudeva picked up the kid and put him in a basket. Then he walked toward Gokul while bearing the basket on his head. Gokul was currently on the Yamuna River's opposing side. The Yamuna was in a turbulent state due to the thunder and rain. Vasudeva begged for a miracle as he pondered how he would cross the river. Then it occurred! The Yamuna's waters split to make room for him. Then Vasudeva made his way across the Yamuna to Gokul.

Vasudeva discovered that Nanda's wife Yashoda had given birth to a baby girl when he arrived at Nanda's home in Gokul. He put his child in the cradle and snatched Nanda's daughter while Yashoda and Nanda were fast asleep. Since it was a baby girl, he assumed Kamsa wouldn't kill her. He then travelled back to Mathura while carrying the infant girl. The dungeon doors shut behind Vasudeva as soon as he entered inside, and the infant girl began to sob. The cries woke the guards up, and they hurried to inform Kamsa of the birth of the eighth child. When Kamsa heard the news, he hurried to the prison, snatched up the infant, and was about to throw it to the floor. Vasudeva pleaded with Kamsa not to hurt the child because it was merely a female and she could not harm him. The evil Kamsa did not care and threw the infant to the ground. The infant, which was born to murder Kamsa, unexpectedly flew up as it was about to touch the ground and informed the man that the child destined to kill him is still alive. Then she vanished.

(There are various sources for the Krishna Janmashtami Story. The above-mentioned version has been taken particularly from Books X and XI of the Bhagavata-Purana.)