Krishna's Birth

Krishna's Birth

--------------------------


--------------------------

   Old King Ugrasena of Mathura had two children, Prince Kamsa and Princess Devaki. While King Ugrasena was a good king, Prince Kamsa was a ruthless tyrant. Now Princess Devaki was to wed a nobleman named Vasudeva. 

Kamsa out of the love he bore for his sister decided to be the bride and groom's charioteer for the day. While Kamsa drove the chariot bearing Devaki and Vasudeva out of the wedding hall, a voice from the heavens boomed informing Kamsa that Devaki's eight child would be his slayer.
--------------------------------


----------------------------
Kamsa being the superstitious type would take no chances. He wanted to strike down Devaki that very moment. Vasudeva intervened, he begged Kamsa not to slay Devaki and show her some mercy. He further promised Kamsa that he would hand over any child born to them, if he would let Devaki live. Now Kamsa not wanting to have the blood of his sister on his hands agreed and instead placed them under house arrest.

------------------------------------------------


----------------------
Every time a child was born, the guards would inform Kamsa and he would take the child and kill it. Six of Devaki and Vasudev's children met their death this way. It so happened that the seventh child was born at night, and Devaki and Vasudeva seeing the opportunity decided to try to save the child.

  The guards were asleep, so Vasudeva easily slid out of the palace undetected. He went to neighboring Gokul and left the child with his second wife Rohini and quickly returned to the palace (this child was named Balrama). In the morning he sent word to Kamsa that the child was still born.
Kamsa was pleased, he knew the next child was prophesized to be his slayer. Not wanting to take chances with the birth of the eight child, Kamsa had Vasudeva and Devaki thrown into the dungeon chained.
The eight child was born on the eight night of the month of Shravan. It was raining heavily and the skies thundered as if the Gods were trying to pay homage to the new born child. Then the miracle happened, Vasudevas chains fell off and the prison door opened by itself. Vasudeva found the guards to be asleep, so he decided that he would escape with the child and leave him at his friend Nanda's place in Gokul.

-----------------------------
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHWP3kJBCVm0hTWwIGib5sVnzC2P0xj1CNzPEmIJqACocDTvxR8ICe6OFL-Z7KkTl4WQhrVOr9ElejoP7Ed6X-bEKVbJ7yMo4fqpRdqA0jUEhHH3p5gztdNQE4_6m3T-hOwzfFk8sip13/s1600/lor20a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">

--------------------------------------

Custom Search

--------------------------------------------


  Picking up the child, Vasudeva placed him in a basket. He then carried the basket on his head and made his way to Gokul. Now Gokul was on the opposite bank of the river Yamuna. Because of the thundering and the rain, the river Yamuna was in a state of turmoil. Vasudeva, wondering how he would cross the river prayed for a miracle. Then it happened!. The waters of the Yamuna parted and made way for him. Vasudeva then crossed the Yamuna and reached Gokul.

    On reaching Nanda's house in Gokul, Vasudeva realised that Nanda's wife Yashoda had given birth to a baby girl. While Nanda and Yashoda were asleep, he placed his child in the cradle and took Nanda's daughter instead. He presumed that since it was a baby girl, Kamsa would not kill her. He then made the journey back to Mathura and he took the baby girl with him. As soon as Vasudeva reached the dungeon, the dungeon doors closed behind him and the baby girl started to cry. Awakened by the cries, the guards rushed to tell Kamsa of the birth of the eight child.

Hearing the news, Kamsa rushed to the dungeon and picked up the child and was about to dash it to the ground. Vasudeva begged Kamsa not to kill the child as it was only a girl and that a girl could do him no harm. The wicked Kamsa paid no heed and dashed the baby to the floor. As the baby was about to hit the floor, it suddenly flew up and told Kamsa that the one who was born to kill him still lives and is in Gokul.  Then she disappeared.

Krishna Returns to Mathura

Krishna Returns to Mathura

--------------------------------------------------


---------------------------------------------------------------

      Now stories about Krishna's deeds spread far and wide. When Kamsa heard about Krishna, he was sure that Krishna was Devaki's eight born child, born to destroy him. He, in turn, planned to invite Krishna to Mathura and have him killed. He summoned an old minister by the name of Akrura and sent him to Gokul with an invitation. Now Akrura was wise. He knew the real story of Krishna. That Krishna was a divine being born to kill Kamsa. He also knew that Nanda and Yashoda were not really Krishna's parents. On arriving in Gokul, Akrura told Krishna and his parents everything. Nanda and Yashoda were horrified, they wondered how a teenager like Krishna could take on a warrior like Kamsa. But Krishna insisted on going and he and Balrama left for Mathura.

------------------------------------------


---------------------------------

In the mean time, back in Mathura, Kamsa was thinking of ways of having Krishna killed. He asked an elephant trainer to have a mad elephant trample Krishna. Failing that he was sure that his best wrestlers Mushtika & Chanura could challenge Krishna & Balrama to a match and kill them.

----------------------------
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyO8TlkU9HzZUyALevvzwfB0omcQKBaXZJqMTGuhsuoS2zXirQvfN9I6PGH1B1eeeJtIRmUZSz1RPEXZ060gqH4JoC_AyfRM3h9Am5JwFljGwVXf8NY34Ymyr9bZ8aM57MKyJ1zQAVK-se/s1600/TA51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">

When Krishna arrived in Mathura, the elephant trainer was waiting for him at the gate. He sent the mad elephant Krishna's way. Krishna picked up the elephant by its trunk, hurled it into the air and killed it.

  Krishna and Balrama then made way for the wrestling arena where Kamsa was. Kamsa then told Krishna and Balrama that his foremost wrestlers Mushtika and Chanura had heard of their strength and valor and would like to challenge them. Balrama killed Mushtika in mortal combat and then Krishna fought and killed Chanura.
Krishna then rushed towards Kamsa, grabbed his sword and killed him. Krishna then lifted the crown from Kamsa's severed head and walked towards the dungeon where King Ugrasena was imprisoned, freed him and offered him the crown. King Ugrasena was touched that Krishna would make him King again. Krishna then freed his parents Devaki and Vasudeva and had a joyous re-union with them.

Krishna's Life in Gokul

 Krishna's Life in Gokul

------------------------


----------------------------

---------------------------


--------------------------
  The next morning in Gokul, the word spread that Nanda had a little boy and he was named Krishna. Now kansa knew that his would be slayer was still alive and was in Gokul, so he summoned a wicked demoness name Putana. He ordered Putana to go to Gokul and kill every baby born in the month of Shravan. Now Putana using her magic turned into a beautiful woman, she then applied poison on her breasts.

-------------------------------------------------



--------------------------
   In Gokul she then searched for all the babies of the right age. She would act as if she was playing with them and then she would nurse them with her poisoned breasts. In this way, she killed many babies. Finally she came to Nanda's house and found baby Krishna there. She acted as if she was playing with the child, and then she picked him up and started to feed him. Now baby Krishna being divine, instead of succumbing to her evil ways, sucked the life out of her.

  Krishna grew up a playful, mischievous child. He grew up amongst the cowherds of Gokul and even came in contact with his brother Balrama. Another miracle Krishna performed as a teenager was the taming of Kaliya. Kaliya was a poisonous snake with many heads, and inhabited a lake in Gokul. Kaliya would devour any cow that would drink from the lake. Krishna, angered by this, took a vow to tame Kaliya. He jumped into the lake and fought Kaliya. Alarmed by this, his friends ran to the village and informed his parents. Upon returning to the lake they found pools of blood on the surface of the lake. They though that surely Krishna was dead. After a while, the many headed Kaliya rose to the surface with Krishna dancing on top of him. Kaliya was tamed. Krishna then ordered Kaliya to leave the lake and the inhabitants of Gokul alone.

    The people of Gokul used to worship Indra, the arrogant King of the devas, more out of fear than of love of him. Krishna thought that this was wrong. He said that they should instead worship the Mountain Govardhana (Gokul was on the foothills of this mountain) who had given them so much. The people started to worship Govardhana, this made Indra really angry. Indra, in order to punish them for their insolence, sent storms their way. It rained for many days and Gokul was flooded. The people of Gokul approached Krishna for help. Krishna lifted the entire mountain Govardhana with his little finger and gave shelter to the people of Gokul under it.

Character of Ravana

Character off Ravana

-------------------------------------------------



----------------------------
   Ravana was a king of demons in the Hindu mythology. Here are some interesting tit bits about Ravana's life and his defeat by Rama.

---------------------------------------

    The pages of Hindu epic Ramayana introduce us to the notorious being called Ravana. The king of the demons with ten heads and twenty hands makes Hindu mythology really interesting. Ravana was born to parents by name Visrawasa and Kaikasi. He had two brothers with namesKumbhakarna and Vibhishana. 
--------------------------------------


---------------------------------
   It is believed that Ravana was the most dreadful creature ever born. His childhood was responsible to make him whatever he was. When he was a child, people were terrified of a child having ten heads and dark complexion. Let us once again go back in time of mythology and supernatural powers to get the glimpse of the life of deadly demon and incredibly scholar persona known as Ravana.

How Ravana got his name... 
-------------------------------------------------


----------------------------------------------
   Ravana's real name was Dasamukha which literally means one who carries ten heads. Valmiki's Ramayana narrates the story about how Dasamukhagot the name Ravana. Once Ravana infuriated the great monkey king Vaaliwho was praying on the mountain. Agitated Vaali trapped Ravana. Ravanakept howling until Vaali released him from the trapping. Since then people forgot Dasamukha and remembered Ravana.

Intellectual and scholar demon 

Though Ravana is looked upon as a cruel demon who annoyed the innocent, he is also known as a great intellectual in the history of Hindumythology. Under the guidance of his father, Ravana grasped vast knowledge. He learned sacred texts like Vedas. He mastered holy scripts.Ravana himself was a Brahmin but he learned the skills and techniques ofKshatriyas.

Devotee of lord Shiva 

 The demon that was well known for his evil powers had great faith in almighty. He was a believer of the supernatural beings. Ravana was a faithful devotee of lord Shiva, one of the incarnations of lord Vishnu. While possessed with obsession to manifest Lanka, Ravana confronted Shiva. Ravana tried to move on the mountain Kailash, the home of the lord Shiva.

In anger Lord Shiva punished Ravana by pressing him under his little toe.Ravana howled and danced to please lord Shiva. Then on Ravanaworshipped lord Shiva with unconditional devotion. During this chancemeeting with Shiva, Ravana composed Shiva tandava stotram.

The gruesome side of Ravana 

Ravana had many wives but Mandodari is renowned as she was famous for her elegance and beauty. She was intelligent. Apart from legal wivesRavana was believed to have physical relations with many other women whom he had captured in the battles. There is a mention of the episodes in the Ramayana that he forced several women; amongst them was a sage-woman Vedavati. 

Vedavati who was infatuated with the charisma of lord Vishnu, ended her life after losing her chastity. Ravana also tried to abuse Rambha, anapasara engaged to Kubera's (the god of wealth) son. After learningRavana's advances, Kubera cursed him that if he tried to force himself upon any women, all his heads would fall off. This is one of the reasons why he did not touch Sita when she was in his abduction.

The king of demons 

Ravana was obsessed with the thought of conquering Lanka. Ravanaperformed tapas for many years to please Brahma, the god of creation. Seeing his dedication Brahma bestowed him boons. Brahma granted his wishes to be unbeatable by gods and other powers. After getting the control of divine power, he conquered Lanka. 

In his tenure, Lanka was a prosperous and wealthy kingdom. He leadedLanka with his skills and he was considered one of the great monarchs. Under his ruling people in Lanka were living affluent lives. It is said that they actually owned gold vessels to consume their food. Ravana was admired for his huge knowledge of weapons and sorcery.

Ravana kidnaps Sita 

Ravana's sister Shurpanakha was fascinated by Rama and she proposed him for marriage. Rama refused her proposal as he was already married toSita. Then Shurpanakha pleaded Laxman, Rama's brother to marry her. In a fit of rage Laxman chopped off her nose. Ravana got angry and to take revenge he kidnapped Sita. 

Sita was in his captive for nearly a year. Later she had to go throughAgnipariksha to prove her chastity. Some facts in the mythology say that during her abduction, Ravana persuaded her to be his wife but never touched her. Other facts say that he kidnapped Sita only to take revenge of Laxman's behavior towards his sister. 

When Hanuman (Rama's great devotee) was on his way back from Lankato inform Rama about Sita's whereabouts, the demons in the Lanka set his tail on fire. But with his powers Hanuman increased the size of his tail andLanka was burnt. Rama with the help of Hanuman set off to Lanka once he got to know about the Sita's kidnap.

Decline of Ravana 

As Ravana was unbeatable, Rama had to acquire a special weapon to killRavana. Laxman got severely injured in the battle but he was saved by the magical herbs from the Himalayas. Finally Rama defeated Ravana and that was the end of the empire of Ravana. Ravana lost his life and his virtues because of his Karmas. His ego was solely responsible for his devastation. 

On the day of Dassera Ravana's effigies are burnt to signify the power of the good over evil. But on contrary in some parts of India Ravana is worshipped on Vijay Dashmi. Ravana is the symbol of wickedness as well as wisdom. Ravana is burnt and worshipped for ages and will be burnt and worshipped for ages.

Monkey and the Crocodile

Monkey and the Crocodile

----------------------------------------------------


-----------------------------------------

  Once upon a time, a clever monkey lived in a tree that bore juicy, red rose apples. He was very happy. 


   One fine day, a crocodile swam up to that tree and told the monkey that he had travelled a long distance and was in search of food as he was very hungry. The kind monkey offered him a few rose apples. The crocodile enjoyed them very much and asked the monkey whether he could come again for some more fruit. The generous monkey happily agreed. 

----------------------------------------------


------------------------------------------
   The crocodile returned the next day. And the next. And the next one after that. Soon the two became very good friends. They discussed their lives, their friends and family, like all friends do. The crocodile told the monkey that he had a wife and that they lived on the other side of the river. So the kind monkey offered him some extra rose apples to take home to his wife. The crocodile's wife loved the rose apples and made her husband promise to get her some every day. 

Meanwhile, the friendship between the monkey and the crocodile deepened as they spent more and more time together. The crocodile's wife started getting jealous. She wanted to put an end to this friendship. So she pretended that she could not believe that her husband could be friends with a monkey. Her husband tried to convince her that he and the monkey shared a true friendship. The crocodile's wife thought to herself that if the monkey lived on a diet of rose monkeys, his flesh would be very sweet. So she asked the crocodile to invite the monkey to their house. 
The crocodile was not happy about this. He tried to make the excuse that it would be difficult to get the monkey across the river. But his wife was determined to eat the monkey's flesh. So she thought of a plan. 

-------------------------------------------


-----------------------------------

  One day, she pretended to be very ill and told the crocodile that the doctor said that she would only recover if she ate a monkey's heart. If her husband wanted to save her life, he must bring her his friend's heart. 

    The crocodile was aghast. He was in a dilemma. On the one hand, he loved his friend. On the other, he could not possibly let his wife die. The crocodile's wife threatened him saying that if he did not get her the monkey's heart, she would surely die. 

So the crocodile went to the rose apple tree and invited the monkey to come home to meet his wife. He told the monkey that he could ride across the river on the crocodile's back. The monkey happily agreed. As they reached the middle of the river, the crocodile began to sink. The frightened monkey asked him why he was doing that. The crocodile explained that he would have to kill the monkey to save his wife's life. The clever monkey told him that he would gladly give up his heart to save the life of the crocodile's wife, but he had left his heart behind in the rose apple tree. He asked the crocodile to make haste and turn back so that the monkey could go get his heart from the apple tree. 

The silly crocodile quickly swam back to the rose apple tree. The monkey scampered up the tree to safety. He told the crocodile to tell his wicked wife that she had married the biggest fool in the world.  

BIG Lion and the SMALL Rabbit

BIG Lion and the SMALL Rabbit

--------------------------------------------



------------------------

     Once upon a time, there lived a big lion in a jungle. Every day he hunted and killed many animals to satisfy his hunger. The animals were worried that one day none of them would be left alive. They all decided to go to the lion and find a solution to this problem.

----------------------------------
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpst2ieALxdfxOppw7Ru-iMxuPajEZMF3rNIJ6ELnQiSLD7k-odPyjJiV3nKSINc09eoGM2V0NTIiY5NXa6g7cppGYDucO6VPXDLnnmRpvC49zURu8KQRsbYhFtMjj3iyj5s_0eiL-FsYK/s1600/FDlion_raDFDFbbit_comparison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">

   When the lion saw all the animals approaching, he was very happy as he thought that he would not have to take the trouble to hunt. He could just kill all the animals together once and for all. 


   One of the animals stopped him and pleaded that he listen to what they had to say first. He went on to explain that as the lion was king of the jungle, and all the other animals were his subjects, the lion would not be a king at all if he killed all his subjects. He would have no one left to rule over. He suggested that if the lion stayed home, one animal would surrender itself each day as food for the lion. The lion agreed to this offer on the condition that if they ever failed to send him an animal, he would go on a killing spree and finish all of them off. 
From then on, each day an animal was sent to the lion and the lion was pleas

---------------------------------------------------------


----------------------------------------------------------------
    One day it was the turn of a little rabbit to sacrifice his life to provide food for the lion. This little one did not want to be the lion's meal. He thought of a plan that would save his life as well as the lives of all the other animals in the jungle.
The rabbit slowly made his way to the lion's den. The lion was pacing up and down, extremely hungry. He was furious when all he saw was a little rabbit. He wanted to kill all the animals in a rage. The rabbit timidly explained that the animals had actually sent him six rabbits, but five of them were killed and devoured by another lion. 

   The lion roared in anger. He wanted to know who this other lion was who dared to steal his food. The rabbit stuttered that it was a very big lion. He had warned the other lion not to eat him as his king would be very angry and definitely come to fight him. The rabbit went on to say that that the other lion had called His Majesty an impostor and had challenged him to prove who was actually the king of the jungle. The lion was furious. He asked the rabbit to take him to the other lion as he wanted to kill him. 

-------------------------------------------------


-------------------------
   The little rabbit led the lion to a well and told him that the other lion was in there. The lion peered into the well and saw his own reflection. He thought it was the other lion. He let out a huge roar which echoed back at him. He immediately jumped into the well to attack what he thought was the other lion. The lion dashed his head against the rocks and drowned. 
The jubilant little rabbit returned to other animals to spread the good news.

STORY FOR CHILDREN

   STORY FOR CHILDREN

----------------------------------------------


-------------------------

 He had arrived in the store just before Christmas when there had been a lovely big tree in the window, all decorated with fairy lights. Yards and yards of sparkling tinsel had been draped over everything, and holiday music had been playing all the time. Wolstencroft was especially fond of Jingle Bells. He liked its light, tinkling sounds. It always made him feel merry.

At that time there had been lots of other bears to keep him company. In fact, there had been so many teddy bears crowded onto that one narrow shelf that he had scarcely had room to move.
     But, one by one they had all gone. Gleefully waving goodbye as they were carried off to their new homes. Until finally, he was the only teddy bear left in the entire store.
     He had hoped that Santa Claus would drop by on Christmas Eve and deliver him to a good home. But he hadn't. Santa had been too busy that year, delivering even more presents than usual.
---------------------------------------------------

Custom Search

----------------------------------

     Wolstencroft felt sad and lonely sitting there all by himself on the shelf that was high above the Christmas cards. He longed to have a child take him home and love him and play with him. But, most of all, to hug him. For no hug is ever too big for a teddy bear.
     He was trying hard not to cry because he knew that tears would make his eyes all puffy and red and then he would have even less chance of finding a home.
     But why oh why didn't someone choose him?
     Why, he wondered, was he passed over so many times for other less beautiful bears?

  Then one day, shortly before Easter, three bunny rabbits were placed on the shelf beside him.

-----------------------------------------------------


-----------------------------------

 

     They all had very big ears and feet and long legs. All three were wearing woolen sweaters.

     Rita Rabbit wore a pink sweater. Roger Rabbit a green one. And Ronnie wore blue.

     Roger and Ronnie were twins, and Rita was their sister.

     "My you are a handsome bear," Rita told Wolstencroft after the store had closed for the night. "I'm surprised that no one has bought you and taken you home."

     "So am I," replied Wolstencroft and, although he tried very hard to stop it, a tear rolled down his furry cheek.
-------------------------------------------


------------------------------

 

Now Wolstencroft had always been able to say his name correctly. But then, it was his very own name and everyone can say his or her own name. At least he thought that they could. Not when they are very little, of course. He couldn't say his name when he was a tiny baby bear. But after he had started going to school he knew it very well.
     "Wolstencroft," the teacher would call out. "Will you recite the alphabet for us today?"
     And he would name all the letters from A to Z. All 26 of them. He was a very smart bear.
  On Easter Sunday, very early just after the store had opened, a Mommy and Daddy bought Roger and Ronnie for their twin boys.
   "They look nice," Rita said. She was happy that her brothers had found a good home but felt sad, too, because she was beginning to miss them already.
     At the front of the store a table had been set up with chocolate Easter eggs. And as it was now Easter Sunday, they had been marked down to half price.
     After everyone had gone home for the day, Wolstencroft picked the nicest egg he could find and gave it to Rita, to cheer her up.
     They shared the egg, sucking on the sweet creamy chocolate and making sure it didn't get onto their clothes.
     Then they started to talk about the name Wolstencroft again.
     "I wouldn't want to change it," Wolstencroft declared. " I mean it's me. I've had it all my life.
     "But if it's stopping you from getting a home," Rita insisted. "You may have to."
     She hopped over to the book department and returned with a book called What to Name Baby.
Then she began reading out the names she thought might suit Wolstencroft.
     "What about Adrian?" she suggested. "It's a lovely name, very dignified."
     But Wolstencroft shook his head.
     "Well, what do you think of Bernard? It actually means brave as a bear."
     But Wolstencroft was not impressed.
     So Rita left the B's and began flipping through the pages of the book, reading out a name for each letter of the alphabet starting with C.

  But finally, just before the dawn rose in the eastern sky, Rita had convinced him that Woolly was the best choice.
     "You're right," Wolstencroft said as he closed his eyes and prepared to sleep. "It's nice to be dignified, but not to be stuffy."
     And so it was that Wolstencroft became known as Woolly for short.
     "I bet someone will come along and buy you tomorrow," Rita predicted as she fetched a black felt pen from the stationery department and underneathWolstencroft, wrote Woolly for short.
   Then one frosty evening when the stars were sparkling in the night sky and snowflakes were dancing past the windows, a little boy and his daddy came into the store.
     "Hey look at this," said the daddy when he noticed Wolstencroft's name tag. "This teddy bear has the same name as you! Only you're called Sten for short and he's called Woolly."
     "What?" The boy called out in surprise. "I didn't think anyone else in the whole great big world was called Wolstencroft."
     And just like Wolstencroft the bear, he was beginning to hate his name.
     "Why don't you two get to know each other?" the daddy suggested as he lifted Wolstencroft down from the shelf.
     And the little boy wrapped his arms around his namesake, which means someone who has the same name as yourself, and stroked his soft fur. And they both loved each other from that moment on.

     "I love him daddy, can I have him for Christmas?" he asked hopefully. And when his daddy said yes, danced around the store with Wolstencroft, almost colliding with other shoppers as he did so.
Wolstencroft really wasn't such a bad name after all they both decided as they whirled around the Christmas tree at the front of the store. In fact, it was starting to sound better all the time now that they had found each other in this wonderful way.

     Wolstencroft the bear had never remembered feeling this happy before. Indeed, he felt so chock-full of joy that he thought he just might burst. He was going to a new home at last. And he knew that this little boy, who was called Sten, would be his very best friend forever.
     Then Sten gave him a hug so big that his tummy was squished. But, of course, Wolstencroft didn't care. Because no hug is too big for a teddy bear.