Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists

"The Birth of KrishnaThe Birth of KrishnaVasudev was a descendant of Yadu, of the Lunar dynasty ;he was married to Rohim, daughter of King Rohan, andto him Kans also gave his own sister Devakl. Immediatelyafter the marriage a heavenly voice was heard announcing:O Kans, thy death will come to pass at the hand of herKans therefore resolved to slay Vasudev ateighth son."once, and dissuaded from this, he did actually slay thesons one by one till six were dead. In Devakl s seventhpregnancy the serpent Shesh, or Ananta, on whomNarayana rests, took on a human birth. To save thischild from Kans, Vishnu created a thought-form of himself and sent it to Mathura. It took the babe from Devakl swomb and gaveit to Rohim, who had taken refuge withthe herdsmen atNand andGokula, and was cared for byYasoda, good people dwelling there, who had as yet no sonof their own. The child born of Rohim was afterwardscalled Balarama. After transferring the child, the Sending of Vishnu returned to Devakl and revealed the matterin a dream, and Vasudev and Devakl gave Kans tounderstand that the child had miscarried.Then Shrl Krishna himself took birth in Devakl s womb,and the Sending of Vishnu in Yasoda s, so that both werewith child.Kans, when he learnt that Devakl was againpregnant, set a strong guard about the house of Vasudevto slay the child the moment it was born ; for, much as hefeared the prophecy, he dared not incur the sin of slaying awoman. At last Krishna was born, and all the heavensand earth were filled with signs of gladness trees andforests blossomed and fruited, pools were filled, the godsrained down flowers, and gandharvas played on drums andBut Krishna stood up before his father and mother,pipes.219