Today we celebrate all over the country—in every ashram, every temple, and crores of homes—Krishna Janmashtami, the birth of Sri Krishna, the avatar of Bhagavan himself.
What can one say about Sri Krishna? Born in a prison, fit to be a king, but brought up among the cowherds. Who does not know about his childhood friends and the joyful times in Vrindavan? But all that was until he was fifteen, when destiny called him to Mathura, where he disposed of the tyrant Kamsa. He could have been the king, but he never became one—always a kingmaker.
If the Bhagavatam reveals his childhood antics among the gopalas and cowherds, the Mahabharata focuses on him as a titan, a colossus striding across the country, establishing kingdoms, uprooting kingdoms, breaking every law in the book—but all for the greater good. At first glance, it seems as though every law is broken, but when you look at it in the larger context, you understand that the greater good emerged from breaking the old ways.
The ultimate greatness is revealed in the Bhagavad Gita, just before the beginning of the battle of Kurukshetra—the greatest war of the millennium. Though he was not a combatant, he became a guru, a teacher to an exemplary student in Arjuna, revealing the highest truths of our tradition.
How can we talk about his greatness or his glories? Bhagavan Vyasa, the sage, wrote one hundred thousand verses in the Mahabharata to describe the greatness of what Sri Krishna was. Who are we to do it in a short article?
So, this is not an attempt to describe the greatness of Sri Krishna. This is to pay a humble homage to the naughty child, the knowledgeable youth, the warrior, the kingmaker, and lastly, the wise teacher that he was.
The writer is the founder of Aarsha Vidya Foundation. You can write to him at aarshavidyaf@gmail.com
