II. Life of Krishna. — "The king of the Daityas or aljorigines, Ahuka, had two sons, Devaka and Ugrasena. The former had a daughter named Devaki, the latter a son called Kansa. Devaki (the divine) was married to a nobleman of the ^Vryan race named Vasudeva, the son of Sura, a descendant of Yadu, and by him had eight sons, ^'asudeva had also another wife named Eohini. Kansa, the cousin of Devaki, was informed by the saint and prophet Xarada that his cousin would bear a son who Would kill him and overtlirow his kingdom. Kan- sa was king of Matluira, and he captured Vasudeva and his wife Devaki, imjirisoned them in his own palace, set guards over them, and slew the six children whom De- vaki had already borne. She was about to give birth to the seventh, who was Balarama, the playfellow of Krishna, and, like him, supposed to be an incarnation of Vishnu ; but. by divine agency, the child was tVansferred before l)irth to the womb of Vasudeva's other wife, Eo- hini, who was stiU at liberty, and was thus saved" (Thom- son's summarj' in Bhagavad Gita, p. ISi). Her eighth
child was Krishna, who was produced from one of the hairs of Vishnu (jMuir's Sanscrit Texts, ch. ii, sec. 5), and was born at midnight in Mathura, " the celestial phe- nomenon." The moment Vasudeva saw the infant he recognised it to be the Almighty, and at once presented his adoration. The room Avas briUiantly illuminated, and the faces of both parents emitted rays of glory. The child was of the hue of a cloud with four arms, dressed in a yellow garb, and bearing the weapons, the jewels, and the diadem of Vishnu (H. II. "Wilson, ut sup. i, 122). The clouds breathed forth pleasing somids, and poured down a rain of flowers ; the strong winds were hushed, the rivers glided tranquilly, and the virtuous experienced new delight. The infant, however, soon encountered the most formidable dangers, for Kansa left no means unemploj'ed to compass the child's destruc- tion. The gods interposed for his deliverance ; lidled the guards of the palace to a supernatural slumber; its seven doors opened of their own accord, and the father escaped with his child. As they came to the Yamuna, the child gave command to the river, and a way was opened that they might pass over, a serpent meanwhile holding her head over the child in place of an umbrella. The child was surreptitiously exchanged for another, of which the wife of an Aryan cowherd, Nanda by name, had been delivered. Krishna was left with the cow- herd, while Vasudeva returned with the other to the palace. Not long after, Kansa discovered the impos- ture, and in anger gave command for the incUscriminate slaughter of all male children. To escape the impend- ing danger, Krishna was removed by Nanda to the vil- lage Gokula. Here his youth was passed in the care of the flocks and herds. The young gopas and gopis, cowherds and milkmaids, flocked to his side from the surroimding countrj', won by his matchless beauty and the display of his miraculous powers. He selected from the fascinated gopis a bevy of beauties, of Avhom he married several, Radha enjoying the honor of being his favorite mistress, and subsequently of bcuig associated with him as a joint object of worship. He beguiled the hours with them in the gay revelries of dance and song. A second Apollo, he wielded the power of music, and at the sweet sounds of flute or vhia the waters stood StiU to listen, and the birds lost the power of flight. The Puranas dwell upon his repeated exploits with serpents, demons, and other monsters, each one of whom was eventually crushed or conquered, for the unequal con- test was waged with one who embodied " the strength of the world." An impostor arose, pretending to be the true son of Vasudeva or Krishna himself, but he also was defeated and slain (.Johnson's Selections from the Mahabharata, third section, note). Krishna particijia- ted in the family feud between the Kurus, or hundred sons of Dhritarasthra, and their cousins, the five sons of Pandu. One of the battles is fabled to have lasted eighteen days, and to have been attended with incredi- ble slaughter. The varied fortunes of this protracted strife, interspersed with a vast number of legends and traditions, constitute the subject of the great epic tlie Mahabharata. For the protection of tlio jieople of Yadu against the invasion of a foreign king, Krishna built and fortified the town of Dvaraka, in Guzerat, all tlie Avails of which were so studded with jewels that there was no need of lamps by night. To Eukmini is accord- ed the pre-eminence as his wife, though his harem num- bered 16,000 others, each one of whom bore him ten sons (comp. The Dahistan, ii, 31, 1.S3, and Bhagavat Purana, ibid, ii, 408). Many Avere his notable deeds, some of them embracing the regions of the dead, and others In- (Ua's heaven, from which he stole the famous Parijata- trec, produced at the churning of the ocean, and at that time thriving in the gardens of Indra. The mighty tyrant Kansa. and the mightier dremons Chanura and Mushtika, fell beneath his prowess, and even his own tribe, the Yadavas, Avas exterminated through his agen- cy (11. H. AVilson, Vishnu Purana, v, passim). His death at last took place in a Avouderful manner, and is sup-