The birth of Sri Krishna, as described in mythology, is a very dramatic event. His mother Devaki and father Vasudeva were in Kansa’s prison. The prison guards were under strict orders to speedily convey the news to Kansa as soon as a child was born to them.
Kansa had been told that Devaki’s eighth son would be his killer, so he was finishing off all the sons. Now it was the turn of the eighth son about to be born.
Sri Krishna was born on a dark night. It was an Amavasya, and there was no moon. This is a symbol of creation. Most creation takes place in the dark. When a seed germinates, it does so best in the dark. It is a scientific fact that light is not necessary, and even harmful, for germination.
Plants flower in the sunlight but are born in the dark. Similarly, when a story, a poem or a song is born, it happens in the dark unknown corners of an artist’s mind before it sees the light of day.
Sri Krishna was born inside a prison. Hindu thought likens the physical body to a prison. Our real self is our soul—atma. When a soul comes to the earth, it takes a body which remains its abode until it leaves this planet. We are all born into a prison from which we can get released only when we attain the realisation that we are souls, not bodies.
As soon as Sri Krishna was born, numerous attempts were made to kill him. Putana,Shakatasura, Trinavarta, Bakasura, Aghasura, Vatsasura, Dhenukasura, Pralambasura, Kaliya, Arishtasura and Vyomasura were some demons who tried to kill him.
This is again symbolic of life. A person who is born can die anytime—in one second or a hundred years. The possibility of death becomes real as soon as someone is born.
One final thing to be noted is that Sri Krishna defeats all the attempts to kill him.
Even though he is just a small child and the attackers are huge and powerful demons, they are unable to kill him. Sri Krishna is full of life. He is an embodiment of life itself. He roams on the mountainous pastures of Govardhana with his friends and his cows, dances with Gopis on the banks of the Yamuna, plays the flute and steals fresh butter made by the cowherdesses. Death frightens only those who are already afraid of it.
Those who fearlessly go about living and enjoying their life are not worried about when death will approach. The message conveyed symbolically by Sri Krishna’s birth story is for us to enjoy life to the fullest and cherish every moment without fear.