Krishna Avatar · Teacher of the Gita

Krishna was born at midnight in a prison cell, where his parents Vasudeva and Devaki were held by the cruel king Kamsa. That same night the prison doors swung open, the guards fell asleep and Vasudeva carried the newborn across the flooded Yamuna to the village of Gokul, where he grew up as the son of the cowherds Nanda and Yashoda.

His childhood was full of mischief and wonder. He stole butter and shared it with the monkeys. He danced on the hood of the serpent Kaliya to free the river from its poison. When Indra sent a week of storms to punish the villagers, the young boy lifted Govardhan hill on his little finger like an umbrella and sheltered everyone beneath it. And when he played his flute in the evenings, it is said the cows stopped grazing and the river slowed to listen.

Years later, when the Pandava and Kaurava cousins faced war, both sides came to ask for his help. Krishna offered a choice: his whole army, or himself alone, unarmed, promising not to fight. Duryodhana chose the army. Arjuna chose Krishna, and asked him to drive his chariot.

On the field of Kurukshetra, Arjuna saw his teachers, elders and cousins standing against him. His bow slipped from his hands. “I will not fight,” he said, and sat down in despair. The charioteer did not scold him. Standing between the two armies, Krishna spoke to his friend about the eternal soul, about doing one’s duty without clinging to its fruits, about devotion and a steady mind.

That conversation became the Bhagavad Gita. When it ended, Arjuna rose, his doubts gone. He had not been given a weapon. He had been given understanding.