Krishna grew
up further and was a source of immense happiness to his
foster parents and others in the village. His first birthday
was celebrated with much pomp and splendor. Priests were
reciting prayers and large amounts of grains and wealth was
distributed. In those days, the concept of money did not
exist. Exchange was mostly through barter. Yashoda left the
baby unattended during such time as he appeared to be
sleeping under a hand cart laden with utensils. Krishna was
hungry and started crying but due to noise nobody paid
attention. He kicked the cart and the entire cart collapsed
along with all utensils. The cowherds were astonished on how
a cart could have collapsed by itself. When the nearby
children assured them that it was due to baby Krishna's
kicking the cart, they did not believe them.
Shortly after
that incident, a demon called Tranavarta, another agent of
Kamsa, attempted to kill Krishna. He appeared like a
whirlwind and carried the baby away on his shoulders.
However, the baby became so heavy, he could not carry any
further. He fell down to the ground and died, smashed to
pieces.
Vasudeva sent
his family priest Garga to Nand's house for the naming
ceremony of the babies Krishna and Balarama. This priest was
a sage and known for his expertise in Astrology. In those
days after the naming ceremony, the family priest would
forecast the future prospects of the baby. Garga knew that
baby Krishna was of divine origin and he did not want to
precipitate matters by predicting on the baby's future, as
he knew that Kamsa was trying to kill him. This ceremony is
normally done with great pomp and fanfare. Because of
dangers involved, he suggested that this be done secretly in
a cow shed. Garga also informed Nand that both the babies
were divine incarnate and that though they would face number
of dangers and difficulties, no harm would befall them.
One day when
the children were playing, the children told Yashoda that
Krishna was eating mud. When Yashoda queried Krishna
he replied in the negative. Yashoda did not believe him and
asked to him to open the mouth for inspection. When he did
so, she saw the whole universe in his mouth. She thought
that she was imagining things and started praying for the
child, little realizing that she was playing mother to the
supreme lord himself, who needed no protection from anyone.
End of
Chapter 6
Written
by Madhavan T Gopalachary
