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Kans was the king of the pastoral community, living in the land on either side of the Kalindi river, now called Yamuna, at Mathura. He was an usurper, having dethroned his own father, Ugrasen, whom he kept in captivity. He loved his sister Devky very dearly and married her off to Vasudev. After the wedding ceremony, the young couple were seated in a chariot and Kans himself drove the chariot to leave them at their house, when a voice was heard, warning the king that Devky's eighth child would kill him.
Kans got up and drew his sword to kill her then and there, but her husband pleaded for mercy, offering to hand over every baby born to her, to Kans. So the King kept them in jail. As soon as a baby was born, it was taken by the ruthless Kans and its head banged on a rock. Thus seven of Devky's sons were killed.
The next one was black in colour, something unknown among the community. Somehow, it was surreptitiously carried off to the other bank of the river, which was in spate, but receded when Vasudev approached it, and was placed by the side of Yashoda, the wife of Nand, and her daughter brought back and shown to Kans .
"It is a girl. Spare its life," pleaded its mother. But Kans took no chance and threw it on the rock. It slipped off his hands and flew away, towards the heavens, not before warning the King that his killer is already resting in Gokul, Nand's village! Kans immediately took measures to locate this boy, who escaped from his prison, and kill him by hook or by crook; but all his efforts failed.
Yashoda had already one son, born to her the day Vasudev brought the black boy called Krishna, meaning black. Both the boys grew up as her sons, but they were Poles apart in temperament and behaviour. Balram, the true son, was forthright and innocent, while Krishna was mischievous and very cunning, always smiling and playing his flute which attracted the women of the village, who came to him at night and enjoyed sex with him.
When the boys, Balram and Krishna grew up and came to know of the misdeeds of Kans, they broke through the well guarded gates of Kans' palace, threw him out and killed him. The kingdom was restored to Ugrasen.
Rugmini, a maiden of the village, fell in love with Krishna and they secretly met, went away and were married. Rugmy, her brother and Jarasandh, another powerful King, attacked Krishna several times; in the end, they fled to Dwaraka, where Krishna settled for good.
At the request of a Satyabhama's father, whose precious gem Syamanthakam was lost, but recovered by the heroic fight of Krishna, he married her. The two wives, living as neighbours, hated each other; it took all the skills and tact of their husband, to keep the two in good humour.
During Mahabharat war, in which the whole north Indian Kings were divided into two rival groups, supporting Pandavas and Kauravas, both descendants of the same Vyas, Krishna supported the Pandavas, they being related to him.
MAHABHARAT WAR
Imagine a nuclear war between India and Pakistan. After the war, all able bodied men were killed.Only widows and children remained. A blooming cultural centre in Asia collapsed and the dark age set in.
The war described in the epic Mahabharat is nothing short of it. In plot, characterisation and vivid description, there is nothing in the world to rival this voluminous book, in verse, believed to be written by Ved Vyas, who was suffering from a dirty skin ailment, but was asked to mate the Queens of Indraprastha, in Delhi, as their husband was impotent.
The first one closed her eyes because of her revulsion, during intercourse, and the son born was blind. The next one kept her eyes open, but was mentally so tortured that her son's skin was bleached. The maid gladly agreed and she was blessed with a son, well versed in philosophy, politics and had great sense of righteousness.
The children of both Dhritarashtr, the blind and Pandu the white-skinned, hated their cousin brothers from early childhood, finally resulting in war, which could have been averted, had Krishna wanted. On the other hand, along with the black woman Draupaty, he actively interfered in fanning the flames of hatred. Gandhary knew everything and in the battle field, where all her one hundred sons lay dead, she cursed Krishna: you too will suffer, as I do now.
Two instances need focussing. It was a war like a cricket match, to begin every day at a fixed time and to stop at sun set. An unarmed warrior will not be attacked.
The Pandava brothers would visit their elders, who were on their enemy's side, to convey their condolences, after the day's fight was over.
When, both sides were assembled on either side of the battle field at Kurukshetra in Haryana, Arjun the hero asked his charioteer Krishna to steer it towards the centre of the field. When he saw his elders and Guru Dronacharya on the opposite side, he wondered why they should fight each other. Krishna argued with him and, in the end, he used his magical powers to brow beat him.
When Karna's chariot sank in the ground and he was trying to extricate it, Krishna told him to release his arrow without a moment's delay, as he would never get a chance again. Had Arjun known that Karn was his brother, born before his mother married his father, a fact well known to both Bhishma and Krishna, he would have refused to fight any more. As it was, like a bowler using his skill when the batsman, was tying his shoe lace, the cowardly hero of the battle killed his own brother in the most shameful episode of the war!
Krishna witnessed his children fighting among themselves. Old and tired, he was resting in the forest, when an arrow hit his foot.
He never recovered from the wound; perhaps, he did not desire it.
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Source by Kk Subramanian