Week 7 Reading Diary: Cradle Tales of Hinduism continued

Cradle Tales of Hinduism: Krishna

The past few weeks, I have been reading the Indian epic story, the Mahabharata. This week, I chose to read a different aspect of the story. This story, by Sister Nivedita, covers the life of Lord Krishna. I have grown up knowing about Krishna Bhagvan and his stories. My favorite one was how he tried to steal butter from people's homes during his childhood. Sister Nivedita does a good job of incorporating all the different aspects of Lord Krishna's life into consolidated chapters. Tonight, I finished reading the second part of her stories about Krishna. These chapters covered Krishna's return to Mathura and the Doom of the Vishnis. My favorite chapter being the last one, the Doom of the Vishnis. This chapter began by discussing how peaceful Mathura had become years after the great war on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. But amongst all the happiness, whispers began about some lords of the court who played practical jokes on three divine sages. The people of Mathura began to feel uneasy. Amongst all the rumors, Lord Krishna said "that which is to be will surely happen." I really liked this quote because it's very true. Whatever is going to happen in life, will happen regardless of people's actions. As chaos was ensuing, Krishna stayed calm and told the Vrishnis to go to the coast and bathe in the sacred ocean waters. Lord Krishna warned the people to stay away from alcohol, for that would be their downfall. But, since it was their time to perish, they were lured in by a grand feast where wine was served. Fights broke out in the drunken stupor and ultimately led to the deaths of many. I would be very interested in writing a story about the affects of alcohol on the body. I would incorporate Lord Krishna's warnings into my story. 

(Statue of Lord Krishna. Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Bibliography. Cradle Tales of Hinduism, Sister Nivedita. (1907)