The gem which gave Lord Krishna two wives

 The Story of Syamantaka Gem, Jambavant duel with Lord Krishna and his marriage

Syamantaka gem, is a rare gem which had the power to bestow all sorts of good things to the person holding it. This jewel originally was with Sun God, who gave this to Satyajit, who was an ardent devotee of Sun God. Satyajit brought this gem to Dwarka, where Lord Krishna instructed him to give it to Ugrasena, but Satyajit did not listen.

Satyajit gave this to Prasen, who was once killed by a lion while he was wearing this gem. Shortly after, it was attacked by Jambavant, described as king of the ‘bears’ , who killed it after a fierce fight and took off with the bounty.

Lord Krishna and Jambavant

Lord Krishna and Jambavant

Prasen’s disappearance fed to rumour that Shri Krishna killed him, as he wanted the Gem himself. To get himself rid of this, he decided to solve the mystery, Soon he found the Prasen’s corpse, followed it and found Lion’s corpse and finally discovered Jambavant’s cave.

Soon a fierce battle was ensued between these two. After 28 days, Jambavant got tired and he wondered that who is this person who can stand up to him for a fight? He realized that he was none other than Lord Vishnu himself. He happily handed over the gem to Lord Krishna and got his daughter, Jambavati married to Lord.

Meanwhile, Lord Krishna’s companions, who waited for Krishna to come out of the cave, returned to Dwarka despondent. All of Krishna’s friends and family members became extremely sorrowful and began regularly worshiping Goddess Durga to assure the Lord’s safe return. Soon,  Krishna entered the city in the company of His new wife. He summoned Satrajit to the royal assembly and, after recounting to him the entire story of the Syamantaka jewel’s recovery, gave the jewel back to him.

Satrajit accepted the jewel, but with great shame and remorse. He went back to his home, and there he decided to offer Lord Krishna not only the jewel but also his daughter so as to atone for the offense he had committed against the Lord’s lotus feet. Sri Krishna accepted the hand of Satrajit’s daughter, Satyabhama, who was endowed with all divine qualities. But the jewel He refused, returning it to King Satrajit.

Lord Krishna and Satyabhama

Lord Krishna and Satyabhama

Note: Incidentally Lord Krishna’s battle with Jambavant is because of a boon given by Lord Rama. Jambavant, the played a major role in during the building of the bridge, appears in the Mahabharat. Lord Rama was pleased with Jambavant’s devotion and told him to ask for a boon. Jambavant wished for a duel with Lord Rama, which he granted, saying that it would be done in his next avatar.

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The festival of Naraka Chaturdashi (before Diwali)

The story of Narakasura

Narakasura, was the son of Bhumi devi. Bhumi devi ensured her son’s long life through a boon from Lord Vishnu.

The Boon from Brahma

He acquired immense power from a blessing given by Lord Brahma after a severe penance. Armed with the boon and with help of another demon named Banasura, Narakasura became very evil. He became mad with power as he ruled the earth. His was targeting Lord Indra’s kingdom, heaven or swarglok to stamp his authority.

Narakasura assaults everyone, Devas and Aditi

Sooner, the mighty Indra could not withstand the assault of Narakasura and had to flee. Narakasura thus became the lord of both the heavens and the earth. Addicted to power, he stole the earrings of Aditi, the heavenly mother goddess and kidnapped 16,000 women.

Naturally, all celestial beings, Aditi and Lord Indra sought help from Lord Vishnu to end the tyrannies of Narakasura. Vishnu wanted to help everyone, but there was a technical problem. The boon to Bhudevi ensured that he would face death only at the hands of his mother Bhumi devi.

Satyabhama and Lord Krishna – incarnations of Bhumi Devi and Lord Vishnu

In the incarnation of Lord Krishna, he had a wife Satyabhama who was an incarnation of Bhumi Devi. So, Lord Krishna asks his wife Satyabhama, the reincarnation of Bhumi devi, to be his charioteer in the battle with Narakasura.

As promised to the Devas and Aditi, Krishna attacked the great fortress of Narakasura, riding his mount Garuda with wife Satyabhama. The battle was furiously fought. Narakasura possessed 11 Akshauhini (a division of the army), that he unleashed on Krishna.

End of Narakasura

In the fight, Lord Krishna fell unconscious after being hit by an arrow of Naraka. Enraged, Satyabhama takes the bow and aims the arrow at Naraka, killing him instantly. Later Lord Krishna reminds her of the boon she had sought as Bhumi devi. The Narakasura vadh by Satyabhama could also be taken to interpret that parents should not hesitate to punish their children when they step in to the wrong path.

Satyabhama and Narakasura

Satyabhama and Narakasura

Relevance of Naraka Chaturdashi

The message of Naraka Chaturdashi festival is that the good of the society should always prevail over one’s own personal bonds. It is interesting to note that Bhumi devi, mother of the slain demon Naraka, declared that his death should not be a day of mourning but an occasion to celebrate and rejoice. It is said Lord Krishna had an oil bath to rid himself off the blood spattered on his body when Naraka was killed.

Before dying, the Asura requested a boon that his death anniversary should be celebrated by all people on earth. This day is celebrated as ‘Naraka Chaturdashi’ – the first day of Diwali.

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Janmashtmi festival – Birth of Lord Krishna

Birth of Shri Krishna and the festival of Janmashtmi

Krishna avatar of Lord Vishnu
Krishna avatar of Lord Vishnu

Lord Krishna’s birth is celebrated in the hindi month of Bhadrapada. This is celebrated as the festival of Janmashtmi all over the India. This festival has a great significance as it underlines the importance of Shri Krishna – the eighth incarnation of Shri Vishnu.

This religious festival is celebrated all over India in the month of August/September on the ashtami of Krishna Paksh or the eighth day in the month of Bhadon according to the Hindu calendar.

The wedding and Akashwani

Shri Krishna was born to Vasudev and Devaki. He is an incarnation of Vishnu. Devaki was the sister of Kansa. Kansa was a sinful ruler of mathura. During the wedding of Devki and Vasudev, there was an akashvani that eighth child of Devki will kill Kansa.

Krishna-birth-Bhavishyavani

Akashvani of Kans death during Devaki Vasudev wedding

Hearing this, Kansa decided to wait for eighth son to be born and kill him so he would not be harmed. But someone advised him that as in a circular wheel, you do not know which spoke is numbered one and which is not, so you should kill all sons.

Kansa killed the first six children of Devki. Seventh was Lord Balrama, who was saved by divine forces and eighth was Shri Krishna.

Incidentally, Lord Balrama is an incarnation of Sheshnaag.

When Krishna was born in the prison, a chain of events happened, which surprised Vasudev. The gates of the cell flow open and all the guards fell asleep.

Birth-Lord-Krishna

Note:  According to historians, the prison cell, popularly known as ‘Garbha Griha’, in the temple premise is the exact place where lord Krishna was born.  

This temple is known as Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi mandir  The stone walled cell is reminiscent of the cruelty of King Kansa. Many statues and sculptures of the bygone era were found on excavating the site. The prison cell was gradually turned into the present beautiful temple. Lakhs of devotees throng the temple during Janmashtami. The festivities and celebrations during the festival is famous all over India. Celebrations begin during mid night with the birth of Bhagwan.

Guards fell asleep, doors of prison opened on Krishna’s birth.

Vasudev took him to Gokul

He thought of Nand, his close friend in Gokul and decided to handover his child to him in order to save him from the clutch of Kansa.

On that fateful night, heavy rains which led to river Yamuna being in floods. As soon as the feet of Lord touched the river, the flow became normal and Yamuna give way for the Lord.  Sheshnag, the serpent formed an umbrella to save the new born baby from rain.

Birth of Shri Krishna, vasudeva carrying him to gokul

He reached gokul. He kept his child next to fast asleep Yashoda and took the baby girl lying with him back to Mathura. The baby girl is believed to be the sister of Lord Vishnu.

Kansa tries to kill eighth child

After vasudev reached Mathura, Kansa was given the  news of birth of the eighth child of Devki and Vasudev. Kansa rushed to the prison-cell and lifted the baby girl to kill her despite pleadings from Devki. But, instead of hitting the stone, the girl flew up in the air and announced that the annihilator of Kansa was born and in safe hands. She was Yog maya.

Kamsa-tried-to-kill-Yoga-maya

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Recommended article: Pictures of Krishna’s exploits

Sage Narada – Tulabharam (Krishna, Satyabhama and Rukmini)

A tale of two wives of Shri Krishna

This is the beautiful story of Shri Krishna and his two wives Satyabhama and Rukmini, which underlines the importance of devotion. Sage Narada as usual, has played a role into this as well.

Satyabhama belonged to a royal lineage and was very proud of her origins. Rukmini was very humble, though she was the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi. Her devotion was pure to Shri Krishna.

Sage Narada’s plan

One day, Sage Narada came to Satyabhama and said that though she is beautiful and charming, Shri Krishna loves Rukmini more. Baffled by this, she said to him that what she can do get the Lord’s undivided attention. Sage Narada placed his card carefully – he said to Satyabhama that she needs to hand over Shri Krishna to him as a slave. Later on, He would trade Shri Krishna with her with equal weight of gold. In this way Shri Krishna will remain to her as this would prove her devotion towards Shri Krishna.

Narada - The omnipresent sage

Narada – The omnipresent sage

Satyabhama plans to impress Krishna

She agreed and approached Krishna and told him about her unfortunate vow to Sage Narada. The lord patiently listened to her and very meekly nodded his head. Satyabhama then commanded one of the servants to bring out the large scales used to weigh grains and groceries.

She also sent the caretaker of the coffers to bring out all her jewels and gold to the grand court room. And gently leading Krishna, she went to the Courtroom. All the ministers stared at the scales that had been placed at the center of the court. Their mouths further fell when they saw box after box of gold being carried inside. Krishna was silent throughout the entire time.

She gives Shri Krishna to Narada

Then as per the wishes of Narada, She gave Shri Krishna to Narada. Now the interesting part starts. In order to win back the Lord, She had to provide jewellery equal to the weight if Shri Krishna. As decided, Narada gave this option to Satyabhama. Amidst loud sighs of relief, Satyabhama agreed to it.

She wants to win him back with riches and ornaments

She then placed Krishna on one plate of the Scales and with a smirk on her face started piling up the gold, jewels and gemstones on the other plate. She kept adding more and more of her wealth, but the pan with Krishna did not even budge. To top it all Narada kept giving her ominous warnings, “Remember devi, if you fail to supply me with sufficient wealth, Krishna will forever be a slave to me. I can even bid him out to anyone I want.” Satyabhama freaked out and swallowing her pride, begged the other wives of Krishna to give her their jewels so thet they could retain Krishna. Out of their devotion to their lord,, the wives removed every gold ornament on their body until they were wearing only the Mangalsutra. But the scale showed no signs of motion.

Tulabharam Shri Krishna

Tulabharam Shri Krishna

Shri Krishna teases Satyabhama

Krishna, the master, told her, “Look Satyabhama, because of your stupid vow, I have to be a slave to this rishi. Oh how I hate this”, he complained. Satyabhama was at a loss for words when Krishna continued, “Why don’t you ask Rukmini. She must be able to get us out of this predicament”, he suggested coyly.

Rukmini comes to rescue

Satyabhama was in such a state that all her ill will towards Rukmini flew out of the window. She rushed to Rukmini’s private chambers and poured out the dire state of matters. Rukmini, ever calm, didn’t panic and came out to help Satyabhama. On the way she passed the sacred Tulsi plant and plucking a single leaf of Tulsi [Sacred Basil], she continued her way to the place where Shri Krishna and Narada were.

She very quietly walked towards the balance and praying to Krishna, placed the single tulsi leaf on all the piled up wealth. Lo and Behold! The pan containing Krishna flew up and remained underbalanced. Shocked at this, Satyabhama looked to Krishna for explanation. He asked Satyabhama to remove the riches from the balance.

Lord Krishna and Rukmini

Lord Krishna and Rukmini

Satyabhama understands the importance of devotion

Though sceptical, she agreed to what Krishna had to say. She removed all her riches save for Tulsi leaf, and yet, it weighed more than Krishna. She was stunned and humbled. Krishna jumped down from his high hanging pan and came to her, “Bhama, you gave all your riches to me, but there was no devotion in that offering. Just the feeling of possessiveness. When you made your offerings with such a thought in your mind, they lost their value and became mundane things. On the other hand Rukmini offered just a single tulasi leaf. But her intentions were noble. She made the offering with utmost love and devotion towards me. And that single leaf was sufficient to please me beyond expectations.

Sage Narada departs

Remember it is not the offering that matters, but the love and devotion with which you do it, that does.” Then leaving Satyabhama standing stunned in the court, Krishna returned to his chambers with his other wives. Turning to Narada, her eyes now shining bright with tears, Bhama said, “Devarishi, thank you for teaching me this hard learnt lesson today. I will never ever underestimate the power of devotion and love towards the lord.” Narada nodded and with his characteristic Narayana-Narayana, he was gone.

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Shri Krishna did not save Draupadi from cheer haran

Who saved Draupadi from cheer haran

The statement that Krishna did not save her, may appear as untrue. When we read the following facts, we may find there are other stories regarding how Draupadi was saved on that shameful day, when Yushishthira lost everything. All gurus and sages remained silent while Dushashana was trying to disrobe Draupadi. Duryodhana, Dushashana and even Karna did not hesitate in this wrong doing.

This presents a bigger problem and this is prevalent in today as well. Everyone on that day had a reason not to interfere on that shameful day. It was good that someone was able to retrieve or save Draupadi’s modesty. But if we look at today’s scenario, we will find Bhsihma’s and Drona’s who are blind to all the evils, but we could not find “the saviour” who can do something about present day’s situation.

So, as we know that Shri Krishna, whom Draupadi summoned to save her from disrespect. But,  in Vyasa’s mahabharat, the saviour from cheer haran is someone else. This is attributed to Dharma and it is symbolic.  This means it can be the god Dharma, Krishna as the Lord of Dharma, or even Vidura or Yudhishthira. So it is not clearly stated that who was indeed the saviour of Draupadi.

Draupadi’s cheer haran at royal court of hastinapur

Story of Krishna saving Draupadi

in the famous TV serial named Mahabharat, Draupadi summons Keshav (Krishna) in her hour of peril(cheer haran) and Shri Krishna saves her. There is a story related to this. Once Shri Krishna cut his finger with sudarshan chakra. Draupadi tore her veil to put it around Krishna’s bleeding finger. Lord Krishna was very touched by the gratitude done by Draupadi. He promised her to repay the debt and to protect her from all evils.  He protected Draupadi when Draupadi prayed when her sari was being pulled after Duryodhan won her in the dice game.

Story of Durvasa saving Draupadi

There is also an interesting story of Durvasa saving Draupadi from cheer haran which is narrated below.

Shiva Purana attributes her miraculous rescue to a boon granted by Durvasa. The story goes that the sage’s loincloth was once carried away by the Ganges’s currents. Draupadi quickly tore a piece of her garment to cover him. The sage was pleased with her. He granted Draupadi a boon which caused an unending stream of cloth to cover her when Dushasana was trying to strip her in Hastinapura’s royal dice-hall.

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Seven occasions when Lord Krishna saved Pandavas

Shri Krishna saved Pandavas on numerous occasions. Pandavas could not have survived the various designs of Shakuni and Duryodhana, if Shri Krishna would not have been around. Here are some of the interesting incidents when lord saved Pandavas.

Saving from wrath of Sage Durvasa

Sage Durvasa has been famous for his ill temper and curses. Once Duryodhana served him well and pleased, he asked him for a boon. Duryodhana cleverly asked him to pay a visit to Pandavas at afternoon as he knew that Pandavas would not be able to serve him at that time of the day and this will bring wrath of the sage on Pandavas. Thus, Duryodhana tried to made life tougher for Pandavas.

Durvasa complied and duly paid a visit to Pandavas alongwith his disciples. This incident put pandavas in a fix as Draupadi had eaten from the akshaypatra and no more food could be taken from it.

In this precarious situation, Lord Krishna came to the rescue. He appeared at Pandava’s abode and asked Draupadi for food. Draupadi meekly replied – Lord, there is no food and we are helpless as we cannot service sage Durvasa.

Lord Krishna , Pandavas and Draupadi with Akshaypatra saving from Durvasa
Lord Krishna , Pandavas and Draupadi with Akshaypatra saving from Durvasa

The lord smiled and said – Dear Draupadi, please give me that one grain of rice which is still lying in the akshaypatra. Draupadi offered that to lord and immediately Lord’s hunger was satiated.

Surprisingly, Sage Durvasa and his troops also felt the same and they have to discreetly go away from that place as they were invited by Pandavas.

 Saving Arjuna from Shakti

After Karna gave his kavach and kundal to Lord Indra, he was granted the Shakti weapon which was infallible, but could be used just once. Karna saved it use on Arjuna and Krishna knew that he had to do something about it.

He summoned Ghatotkacha and soon, the mighty son of Bhima caused havoc on Kauravas army. Out of desperation Duryodhana requested to use the weapon on Ghatotkacha or all of them would die. Karna used it on Ghatotkacha and knew that he had just blew the chance of killing Arjuna.

Ghatotkacha's death
Ghatotkacha’s death

Saving Bhima from Dhritrashtra

After the war of Mahabharata was completed, all Pandavas went to meet Dhritrashtra. When Bhima started to go to Dhritrashtra to pay his respects, Shri Krishna put him aside and instead presented the iron statue of Bhima which was used by Duryodhana to practice.

Dhritrashtra, understanding that he was meeting Bhima, crushed his statue. Thus using his presence of mind, Lord saved Bhima from certain death.

Dhritrashtra attempts to kill Bhima

Karna, Arjuna and Nagastra

Apart from Shakti, there was Nagastra with Karna which could potentially kill Arjuna. When Karna shot Nagastra on Arjuna, Krishna applied pressure to the chariot by his foot and thus sunk it, as a result of which the astra missed Arjuna’s head and hit his crown instead.

Duryodhana vulnerability

Just prior to Mahabharta war, Gandhari asked Duryodhana to appear before her without clothes. This would have made Duryodhana’s body as hard as a rock, so no person could kill him. When Lord came to know about this, he approached Duryodhana and said that how he would look naked before her mother as he is no longer a kid.

Convinced of this, Duryodhana, decided to use a loincloth. When Gandhari removed her blindfold, she shook her head in disbelief. But the die had been cast. Duryodhana’s body became a rock wherever Gandhari’s gaze fell. The part hidden by loincloth remained weak and Bhima used this weakness to kill Duryodhana.

Duryodhana-Gandhari
Duryodhana-Gandhari

Jarasandha’s death

Jarasandha was a powerful king of Magadh and his death was important for Pandavas. Shri Krishna challenged him for a fight and Jarasandha chose Bhima for the duel. He played an instrumental role in Jarasandha’s death. He gives the vital secret to Bhima by pulling apart a straw and throwing it opposite directions thus indicating the way of killing Jarasandha. Bhima obliged and a great threat to Pandavas was neutralized.

Jarasandh Vadha - Bheema in Mahabharat
Jarasandh Vadha – Bheema in Mahabharat

Saving Draupadi

After Yudhishthira lost his kingdom, his brothers and wife to Duryodhana. Duryodhana asked Dushashana to bring Draupadi to royal court and disrobe her. Draupadi frantically pleaded, but no avail. Lord came to her rescue and when Dushshana started to pull her sari, that sari never ended. An exhausted Dushashana slumped to the floor and Draupadi’s pride could be saved by Lord.

Draupadi's saviour - Shri Krishna
Draupadi’s saviour – Shri Krishna

Following is depiction of this unhonourable incident by Madhubani painting.

Draupadi cheerharan - Madhubani PaintingDraupadi cheerharan - Madhubani Painting
Draupadi cheerharan – Madhubani Painting

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Shri Krishna and Hercules – indian and greek mythology

A comparison of Shri Krishna and Hercules – Gods from indian and greek mythology

Greek mythology and Indian mythology have some similarities. Earlier we saw that Shri Krishna, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu(god) had one weakness, that was in his heel. That was also the case with Achilles, one of the greatest warriors from Greek mythology.

If we follow the events of Hercules life, we come across similarity between him and Shri Krishna.

Birth of Hercules

When Hercules was born, he was not liked by his step-mother goddess Hera, wife of zeus. Hercules was born to Alcmene, who was deceived by Zeus in having believing him as her husband, Amphitryon. We again see a similarity between Greek and Indian mythology as Indra, the king of gods deceived Ahalya in the same way. Later, he was cursed by her husband, sage Gautam.

Hera - wife of Zeus

Hera – wife of Zeus

Hera wanted Hercules to be dead and she sent two serpents to kill him as he lay in his cot. Heracles throttled a single snake in each hand and was found by his nurse playing with their limp bodies as if they were a child’s toys.

Baby Hercules and Snakes

Baby Hercules and Snakes

Interesting birth stories in Indian mythology

 

Shri Krishna and Putna

Above incident is quite similar to the infancy of Krishna when his uncle Kansa sent a number of demons to kill him. The famous incident was with Putna, who came to feed young Krishna, but lost her life.

Krishna and Putna

Krishna and Putna

There is also another story of Hera feeding Hercules. Zeus had tricked Hera into nursing the infant Heracles: discovering who he was, she pulled him from her breast, and a spurt of her milk formed the smear across the sky that can be seen to
this day. This led to the origin of the Milky Way.

Milky way and Hercules

Milky way and Hercules

If we look at the above two images, we would realize that how similar Greek and Indian mythologies are. Krishna being a common factor.

(Read : Shri Krishna and Achilles)

Hercules went on to become the great warrior and is known for his many adventures, which took him to the far reaches of the Greco-Roman world. One cycle of these adventures became canonical as the “Twelve Labours. Shri Krishna’s whole life has been filled with adventures, with the greatest of them is the winning the Mahabharata for Pandavas.

Hercules’s twelve labours are listed as below:

Slay the Nemean Lion.
Slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra.
Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis.
Capture the Erymanthian Boar.
Clean the Augean stables in a single day.
Slay the Stymphalian Birds.
Capture the Cretan Bull.
Steal the Mares of Diomedes.
Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons.
Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon.
Steal the apples of the Hesperides.
Capture and bring back Cerberus.

Shri Krishna’s exploits can be found here.

Barbarika surprises Sri Krishna

Barbarika and his three arrows

When Shri Krishna mocked Barbari that how he is hoping to win the Mahabharat war with three arrows? (Read the story of Barbari)

He responded that a single arrow was enough to destroy all his opponents in the war, and it would then return to his quiver. He further explained that, the first arrow is used to mark all the things that he wants to destroy. On releasing the third arrow, it would destroy all the things that are marked and will then return to his quiver. If he uses the second arrow, then the second arrow will mark all the things that he wants to save. On using the third arrow, it will destroy all the things that are not marked.

In other words, with one arrow he can fix all his targets and with the other he can destroy them. Krishna then challenges him to tie all the leaves of the peepal tree under which he was standing, with those arrows.

Barbari accepts the challenge and starts meditating to release his arrow by closing his eyes. Then, Krishna without the knowledge of Barbari, plucks one of the leaf of the tree and puts it under his foot. When Barbari releases his first arrow, it marks all the leaves of the tree and finally starts revolving around the leg of Krishna.

Barbari sacrificing his life as a true warrior to Shri Krishna in mahabharat

Then Krishna asks Barbari, as why was the arrow revolving around his foot? For this, Barbarika replies that there must be a leaf under his foot and the arrow was targeting his foot to mark the leaf that is hidden under him.

Barbari advises Krishna to lift his leg, since, otherwise the arrow will mark the leaf by pricking Krishna’s leg. Thus, Krishna lifts his foot and to his surprise, finds that the first arrow also marks the leaf that was hidden under his foot. Of course, the third arrow does collect all the leaves (including the one under Krishna’s foot) and ties them together.

With this, Krishna concludes that the arrows are so infallible, that even if Barbari is not aware of his targets, the arrows are so powerful that they can still navigate and trace all his intended targets. The moral of this incident is that, in a real battle field, if Krishna wants to isolate someone (for example: the 5 Pandava brothers) and hides them elsewhere in order to avoid them from being Barbarika’s victim, then Krishna will not be successful as the arrows can still trace the target and destroy them. So, nobody will be able to escape from these arrows. Thus Krishna gets a deeper insight about Barbari’s phenomenal power.

Shri Krishna janmabhoomi mandir (temple) at Mathura

Shri Krishna janmabhoomi temple

The city of Mathura contains the famous Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple.  This temple is the birthplace of  Lord Krishna, who is believed to be the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu.  This temple is actually  a prison cell belonging to Kansa, who was the uncle of Krishna and King of Mathura.

Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple at Mathura

Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple at Mathura

Janmbhoomi Temple that is currently managed by the followers of the Vallabhacharya sect is the most visited temple in Mathura. Located in the eastern part of Mathura, not far from the Yamuna River, the temple is architecturally very interesting.

According to historians, the prison cell, popularly known as ‘Garbha Griha’, in the temple premise is the exact place where lord Krishna was born. The stone walled cell is reminiscent of the cruelty of King Kansa. Many statues and sculptures of the bygone era were found on excavating the site. During the excavation work various things were recovered that confirm this story. The articles that were recovered include utensils, some old figurines, and a rock platform that were commonly seen in the prisons of that period. These articles are displayed in a museum. Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple shares a common wall with a mosque, due to which there is heavy security in the temple. The present temple was built in the 20th century. A stone slab is present in the temple that symbolizes the original site where Lord Krishna was born.

Main gate (entrance) of Krishna Janmabhoomi

Main gate (entrance) of Krishna Janmabhoomi

The city of Mathura

Being the birth place of Lord Krishna, Mathura is one of the most sacred destinations of India. As the legend goes, Mathura was founded in the Treta era by Shatrughna, the younger brother of Lord Rama and later was under the royalty of King Kamsa, the maternal uncle of Lord Krishna.

Shatrughna killed the demon Lavanasura who has tormented everyone.  Lavanasura was the son of Madhu, the pious demon-king after whom the city of Mathura was named.  Madhu’s wife and Lavanusara’s mother was Kumbhini, a sister of Ravan. Lavanasura was the holder of the divine Trishula (Trident) of Lord Shiva, and nobody was able to kill him or prevent him from committing sinful activities.

According to Hindu mythology, Kamsa heard a divine prophecy saying that he would be killed by his sister Devki’s eighth son Krishna. Hence, he imprisoned Devki and her husband Vasudeva and kept on killing their children one after another. But when Lord Krishna was born, miraculously all guards went to sleep, prison gates opened and Vasudeva carried his son to Gokul crossing the wild river Yamuna in the mid night. The divine prophecy came true and Krishna killed tyrant Kamsa and ruled Mathura for a long time. Vrindavan is the place where Lord Krishna spent his childhood leaving a number of myths and legends of love and friendship behind.

Reading suggestion: Shri Krishna’s birth and Janmashtmi festival.