His Story
Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu, was born at midnight in a prison in Mathura. His cruel uncle, King Kamsa, had been warned that Devaki's eighth child would end his rule, so he locked the parents away. But the Puranas tell how, on that stormy night, the prison doors opened on their own. His father Vasudeva carried baby Krishna across the flooding Yamuna river in a basket, while the great serpent Adisesha spread its hoods above like an umbrella. Krishna grew up safe in Gokul with mother Yashoda — stealing butter, playing the flute, and filling the village with joy.
The Protector and the Guide
As a boy, Krishna lifted the huge Govardhan hill on his little finger for seven days, sheltering his whole village from a terrible storm — teaching that God protects those who trust him. Years later, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, the warrior Arjuna lost courage before the great war. Krishna, as his charioteer, spoke to him — and those words became the Bhagavad Gita, one of the most read books on earth. Its heart is one line: 'Do your duty with full heart, and do not worry about the fruit.'
Festivals
Janmashtami (August–September) celebrates his midnight birth — temples decorate cradles, children dress as little Krishnas, and in Maharashtra, young men build human pyramids to break the dahi handi (curd pot), just like the butter thief himself.
