The significance of the real father of Krishna, reincarnation of the Hindu god of preservation.
Bazaar art,1940’s
EARLY LIFE
Vasudev was the real father of lord Krishna, the eight avatar of the Hindu god of preservation, Vishnu. Just like his close and trusted cousin, Nand, he belonged to the Yadava dynasty. He was the son of the Yadava king of Ahir or Shurasena and was born in the Surasena kingdom. Vasudev was a Kshatriya by caste. He had several other wives besides Devaki named Rohini, Bhadra, Madira and Vrikadevi. They all bore him many children. His daughter Subhadra from Rohini goes on to marry the mighty Arjun.
Devaki was the beloved daughter of a king of Mathura, Ugrasena, who played an important role in the great Indian epic of Mahabharat. Vasudev’s sister was Kunti, the mother of Pandavas, Arjun, Bhim, Yudhhisthir and his bloodline with Vasu has been recorded in the ancient scriptures of Hinduism such as Bhagavat Purana.
Another name for the father of Krishna is Anakadundubhi, referring to a drum.
LIFE EVENTS AND CONTRIBUTION TO SOCIETY
Vasudev is known to be a reincarnation of the great sage Kashyap. He was cursed to be born as a cowherder when he kept lord Varun’s cow with him out of greed and refused to return it. But Brahma, the god of creation soon realised that his curse was given in a hurry and to make it right, he gave Vasudev the boon to father the god himself. It has to be nothing less than a privilege to give birth to a manifestation of the supreme deity. Although Vasudev could not bring up Krishna or even stay with him as his father even later in his life, the fact that his own blood is born to bring a balance in the world, defeat evil forces and make sure good prevails is an honour. How he gave up on his own flesh and blood so an epoch of human life can be saved from dark forces is a massive contribution to society.
It all started from Devaki’s evil brother Kans who was a greedy, malicious man who harassed people. On the wedding day of Devaki and Vasudev, a prediction was made for Kans. It stated that the eighth son of her sister is going to kill him. This enraged Kans and he ordered an immediate imprisonment of the couple. The powerless couple was forced to stay behind locked doors. The unfortunate events panned out such that whenever Devaki used to give birth to a child, Kans used to immediately kill it. The poor couple could not do anything but witness the death of their children in front of their eyes. This went on for six times with six of Devaki’s children. The seventh child was Balram, elder brother of Krishna. To save him, the couple declared that the child was born still and was secretly saved. Everyone was eagerly anticipating the birth of the eighth child, including his parents.
On a stormy day at midnight, Krishna was born, as dark as the clouds that covered the city that night. A word for black or dark was Krishna and hence he was named so. A holy voice advised Vasudev to take Krishna to his cousin Nand as the latter’s wife had just given birth too and bring that kid here. With the protection of the supreme forces, Vasudev emerged from the prison for the swap.
The city was across the river Yamuna and it was flooding due to the heavy rains that night. Vasudev clutched the baby close to his chest and by the powers of the lord, he stayed secured with the baby even amidst the water logging. It is believed that a serpent spread its body as an umbrella and accompanied them throughout their journey.
Krishna was safely placed at Nand’s house and went on defeating Kans.
