LORD KRISHNA CHILDHOOD & YOUTH LILA
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Nanda was the head of a
community of cow-herders, and he settled in Vrindavana.
The stories of Krishna's childhood and youth tell how he became a cow herder, his mischievous pranks as Makhan Chor (butter thief) his foiling of attempts
to take his life, and his role as a protector of the people of Vrindavana.Krishna lifted the Govardhana hill and taught Indra, the king of the devas, a lesson to protect native
people of Brindavana from persecution by Indra and prevent the devastation of
the pasture land of Govardhan. Indra had too much pride and was angry when
Krishna advised the people of Brindavana to take care of their animals and
their environment that provide them with all their necessities, instead of
worshipping Indra annually by spending their resources. In the view of some, the spiritual
movement started by Krishna had something in it which went against the orthodox
forms of worship of the Vedic gods such as Indra. In Bhagavat Purana, Krishna says that
the rain came from the nearby hill Govardhana, and advised that the people
worshiped the hill instead of Indra. This made Indra furious, so he punished
them by sending out a great storm. Krishna then lifted Govardhan and held it
over the people like an umbrella.
The
stories of his play with the gopis (milkmaids) of Brindavana, especially Radha (daughter of Vrishbhanu, one of the
original residents of Brindavan) became known as the Rasa lila and were romanticised in the poetry of Jayadeva, author of the Gita Govinda. These became important
as part of the development of the Krishna bhakti traditions worshiping Radha Krishna.
Krishna’s
childhood reinforces the Hindu concept of Lila,
playing for fun and enjoyment and not for sport or gain. His interaction with
the gopis at the rasa dance or Rasa-lila is a great example of this. Krishna
played his flute and the gopis came immediately from whatever they were doing,
to the banks of the Yamuna River,
and joined him in singing and dancing. Even those who could not physically be
there joined him through meditation. The story of Krishna’s battle with Kāliyā also supports this idea in the sense
of him dancing on Kāliyā’s many hoods. Even though he is doing battle with the
serpent, he is in no real danger and treats it like a game. He is a protector,
but he only appears to be a young boy having fun. This idea of having a playful
god is very important in Hinduism. The playfulness of Krishna has inspired many
celebrations like the Rasa-lila and the Janmashtami : where they make
human pyramids to break open handis (clay pots) hung high in the air that spill
buttermilk all over the group after being broken by the person at the top. This
is meant to be a fun celebration and it gives the participants a sense of
unity. Many believe that lila being connected with Krishna gives Hindus a
deeper connection to him and thus a deeper connection to Vishnu also; seeing as
Krishna is an incarnation of Vishnu. Theologists, like Kristin Johnston Largen,
believe that Krishna’s childhood can even inspire other religions to look for
lila in deities so that they have a chance to experience a part of their faith
that they may not have previously seen.
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