Week 12 Story: Krishna vs. the Giant Snake


In the wee hours of the morning as the sun just crested the horizon, a rooster crowed loudly. From his bed, Krishna jumped up and set off to perform his morning duties. He hurried to find Balarama, his close friend, and wake him up to help him. He found him already awake and getting dressed for the day.

Krishna said to him, “Father said that today we are allowed to take the cows into the forest to graze.”

Balarama replied, “We’re going into the forest alone? But what is we are attacked by a demon?”

To this Krishna replied, “We’re not going to get attacked by a demon, that only happens in story books.”

Convinced, Balarama followed Krishna out to the pasture to round up the cows. They rang a cow bell as they walked through the pasture, and all the cows came and followed them. Krishna and Balarama then lead them to the edge of the forest, and then down a quaint path until they reached a clearing with lush grass. The two boys watched as the cattle spread out across the field. Krishna was looking around when he saw a black calf. He was surprised because there were no black cows in the herd. He walked over to it to check it out, and when he got close, it turned and tried to kick him. Luckily the kick barely missed. Krishna, bewildered, tried to calm it down, but it attacked him again. This time Krishna grabbed it by the legs and tossed it across the clearing into a tree. When it hit the tree, it died and expanded into the form of a demon.

Krishna then decided to take the cows to another clearing. On the way there he heard a cow crying out in pain, so he looked around to find it. When he turned back to his heard, he did not see them. He ran in the direction he saw them go last, and as he turned a corner saw the head of a giant snake with the cattle walking inside. The snake beckoned to Krishna with his tongue. Krishna, knowing that he had to save the cattle, walked into the mouth of the snake. Before the snake could clasp his jaw shut, Krishna grew to fill its mouth. Once there he held the mouth open and the snake suffocated.

Krishna lead the cattle out of the dead snake and took them home. 


Krishna Defeating a Giant Serpent, Screenshot


Bibliography
Bhagawat: The Krishna Avatar. Amar Chitra Katha. Link


Comments

  1. KaylaApril 29, 2019 at 7:12 AM

    Hi John!
    I think your story was very interesting. The story kind of reminded me of the biblical story of Jonah and the Whale. I think it was interesting that Krishna grew in order to rescue the cows from the snake. It was a twist I was not expecting in the story. The only thing I would add that would make the story better would be adding an author's note.

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  2. CSimonton15April 29, 2019 at 11:49 AM

    This is a good story showcasing the strength of Krishna. I wrote about Krishna in my portfolio and he's such a strong individual, it's hard to underestimate him. I like the imagery of seeing the cows just walking into the demon serpents mouth. I also really liked that you added a couple demons to emphasize Krishna always having to deal with the bastards!

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