Who is Krishna?
KRISHNA AND HIS BROTHER STEALING BUTTER Next | Back | Section | Home | Index

Krishna grew into a beautiful and mischievous child who was always playing pranks with his brother Balarama. One of his favorite foods was the sweet, creamy One day Yashoda caught Krishna in the very act, one hand in the large, round clay pots used to store the butter. 'Open your mouth' she demanded, when Krishna denied his theft. And he did so. But when Yashoda looked inside his mouth, she saw the endless, open space of the universe with all the revolving planets and the stars. Truely, her son was an unusual boy. Taking pity on his stunned mother, Krishna allowed her mind to forget what she had seen.

The Purana give this description of Vishnu (who is incarnated in many forms, including Krishna): "Space glittering with planets, the Pleiades and the stars, fire, water, wind..all these consist in Vishnu." (1978:107)

Like other boys and girls who lived in his village, Krishna worked to care for the village cows.

"Krishna and Balarama became keepers of the calves and together in the cowpen they played children's games. They made crowns of peacock feathers, earrings of forest flowers, fashioned musical instruments out of cowherds' reeds, and made music with leaf instruments....As if they were two princes, the two sons of Fire laughed and enjoyed themselves as they roamed around the great forest. Sometimes they played piggyback, and other times they played with the cowherd children; they ran around freely driving their calves....So did the two protectors of the world pass their time as keepers of the calves." (1978:113)