The story of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s birth is a story of divine grace intervening in the midst of intense suffering and darkness.
In a city called Mathurā, King Kaṃsa was escorting his sister Devakī and her new husband Vasudeva back to the palace after their wedding ceremony. As a king, he was a cruel and selfish tyrant, but genuinely loved his sister. There ceremony had gone beautifully, and both Devakī and Vasudeva were glowing and resplendent in their opulent wedding clothes.
As they passed through the city, there was a rumble in the sky, and a voice from the heavens spoke, “O Kaṃsa, the eighth child of Devakī will be the cause of your destruction”. Stunned and furious to hear this prophecy, he drew his sword and was about to kill his sister right there in her bridal dress when Vasudeva pleaded with him to spare her.
He reminded him that the threat was not her, but their eighth child, and that if only he would spare her life, they would hand over their children to Kaṃsa as soon as they were born.
Still fuming, he called his guards and ordered them to be chained and thrown into the darkest dungeon. They tried to beg him for mercy, but he simply looked the other way.
Poor Devakī and Vasudeva both entered the dungeon in shock and horror, and tried to adjust to their new life in captivity. Despite the struggles, they tried to take care of each other as best as they could. Eventually, she got pregnant, and as soon as the child was born, Kaṃsa showed up at their jail cell.
She pleaded with him for mercy and asked him not to hurt the baby, as it was still only the first one, but he was so paranoid that he grabbed the newborn and slammed its head against the stones, ending its short existence.
Sobbing and devastated, Devakī continued to endure her life in the dungeon. Each time she got pregnant and delivered a child – by herself, with no support or comfort besides her husband – the guards would inform Kaṃsa, would would snatch it and murder it in front of her eyes.
Years went on like this, and six children had been killed in this fashion. She was half-mad with grief and agony. And out in the city, Kaṃsa continued to torture and terrorize his subjects as well.
Before the 7th child was about to be born, Vasudeva’s first wife Rohiṇī was able to procure a visit to the jail. Using a special boon she had, she took the spirit of the baby from Devakī’s womb and put it in hers. Devaki then gave birth to a stillborn child, whereas the 7th child was born to Rohinī safely out in the world, and named Balarāma.
Once again, despite everything, Devakī managed to get pregnant once again. As soon as Kaṃsa heard the news, he ordered extra guards around the clock and was so fearful and obsessed that he himself use to storm down there to find out how things were unfolding.
Finally, the ninth month arrived. On the eighth day of the waxing fortnight in the month of Śrāvaṇa, a monsoon storms was raging outside. Thunder, lightning, wind, and rain creating a truly ominous atmosphere.
Inside the dungeon, Devakī’s labor pains had begun. She struggled to keep her voice down lest the guards inform Kamṣa, and kept praying to God with all her might.
With Vasudeva’s help, at the stroke of midnight, an absolutely beautiful, luminous dark blue-black infant was born, radiating light. He did not cry; in fact, a small smile played on his sweet lips. They named him Kṛṣṇa, the dark one.
After all these years of horror and agony, Devakī experienced a moment of peace, and a rising hope. And then, something even more miraculous happened – all the guards fell asleep. The doors to the cells opened, and their chains came off.
Vasudeva was struck with inspiration, and decided he would try to sneak the baby out to his friend Nanda in the nearby village of Gokul. He found a small straw basket and carefully put the baby inside and lifted him on his head.
He walked as fast as he could, despite the rain and the mud. When he reached the banks of the Yamunā river, it was flooding uncontrollably. Still, something kept him going.
He entered the water, lifting the baby high above his head. However, the waters kept rising, and rising, covering his face and going above his head. He thought he would drown. But the river merely wanted to touch Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s holy feet. After she had darśan, she immediately became calm and subsided.
And unbeknownst to Vasudeva, behind him the great serpent Śeṣanāga fanned his hood above the baby, sheltering him from the wind and rain.
Finally, they reached the village. He walked into his friend’s house, and explained the situation to Nanda. As another miracle, it had just so happened that Nanda’s wife Yaśodā had had a baby girl that night. Nanda suggested that they swap babies, as Kaṃsa surely would not kill a girl – no one could be that evil, could they?
Unsure but desperate, Vasudeva agreed. Yaśodā, exhausted and resting, had no idea of the swapped babies, and raised Kṛṣṇa believing him to be her own.
Vasudeva made his way back, and again, was protected the entire way. As soon as he entered his jail cell, the chains slipped back on, the doors slammed shut, and the guards woke up. Kaṃsa was sent for immediately.
In the early hours of the morning, the tyrant burst into the cell, demanding they hand over the infant. Again, Devakī and Vasudeva tried to shield her, crying out that the 8th child was a girl – and surely Kaṃsa could understand that he needn’t be afraid of a baby girl.
Blinded by his fear and pride, Kamṣa shoved them aside and grabbed the little baby. He was about to smash her head into the wall as he had all of the other infants. However, as soon as he touched her, she leapt up into the sky and revealed herself as a divine goddess, who had taken human birth solely for this moment.
Luminous and scintillating, she cried out in a triumphant voice, “O Kaṃsa, your destroyer has already been born. He lives!”
This ends the story of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s birth. Devakī and Vasudeva had to endure many more years in jail while baby Kṛṣṇa grew up in the village. Kaṃsa kept unsucessfully sending spies and demons to figure out who the eighth child was and kill him first. Eventually, Śrī Kṛṣṇa did return to Mathurā, vanquish his uncle, and liberate his parents.
Teacher: Shivani Hawkins
Maitreya Larios is a scholar and practitioner of the ancient and living traditions of India. He has been a practitioner of Indian spirituality since he was 9 years old.
In 2013, he obtained a doctorate in classical Indology from the University of Heidelberg in Germany, where he is currently employed as a research fellow. He wrote his dissertation on the living Vedic traditions of Maharashtra, which will appear as a book in late 2015.
He is most excited about being a student of Sanskrit and philosophy and about igniting that enthusiasm in his students. His personal journey over the 26 years of studentship in this tradition has been a humbling experience, but it is a path that he assures brings the most amazing transformations.
Besides his area of expertise as a scholar of Indian culture and religion, Maitreya is passionate about photography, visual arts, traveling and vegan/vegetarian cooking.
He is happily married and a father to a beautiful boy named Kabīr.
Few artists have the power to create an indelible impact on the minds of their audiences through their art form and one such name in the world of Kathak is Shambhavi Dandekar. Shambhavi Dandekar as an accomplished Indian Kathak master performer, has carved a niche for herself through her sheer talent, unique performances and unparelled choreography, that has brought her recognition on the national as well as the international platforms.
As a young dancer, Shambhavi started her training under the able guidance of her own mother and renowned Guru Pandita Maneesha Sathe, a celebrated dancer and a teacher in her own right. Shambhavi then went on to complete her intense training in ‘laya and tala’ or rhythm and beats from Table virtuoso “Taalyogi” Pandit Suresh Talwalkar. Along with her top-notch traditional dance training, Shambhavi also has a strong academic educational background with a Bachelors in Commerce and two Masters degrees in Dance. Furthermore, she also holds Diplomas both in French and Sanskrit.
Shambhavi has more than 20 years of teaching experience at an undergraduate and a graduate level at various dance education institutions in India. She has also started her own international school of dance in 2008, called ‘Shambhavi’s International School of Kathak’ or SISK. SISK is a prominent and a thriving international institution with five branches in India and the United States of America with over 400 students and a staff of 15 teachers who are trained by Shambhavi herself.
SISK has produced many a talented student over the years. Shambhavi’s years of experience, intellectual understanding and analysis of the nuances of the art form, has helped her create stellar performers out of her dedicated students. Many of her students are emerging as budding Kathak professionals. Shambhavi guides performers and students all over the world through workshops and master classes.
Shivani is a meditation teacher and multi-disciplinary artist, and the founder of Living Sanskrit. Born both American and into the yogic tradition, she is devoted to preserving and accurately practicing ancient indigenous wisdom in modern times and non-native contexts.
Shivani first heard Sanskrit in the womb, and not a day has gone by without it. She grew up immersed in dharma culture, yogic teachings, and sacred practices under the guidance of her spiritual teacher and also her grandmother.
Living Sanskrit is the culmination of a long-held dream to keep this tradition alive and share its magnificent gifts with the world.
Shivani started teaching meditation in 2001, and professionally a few years later at the suggestion of her spiritual teacher. Since then, Shivani has shared meditation with thousands of people at venues that range from corporate offices to hospitals to schools. From 2008-2014, Shivani was a Fellow with the Berkeley Initiative for Mindfulness and Law, leading retreats and weekly meditation sessions at Berkeley Law School.
Alongside teaching, Shivani is a prolific artist, photographer, and writer. She is a graduate of the Waterfront Conservatory and Playhouse, a member of the California Bar, and has a J.D. from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Rhetoric with minors in Theater, Business Administration, and South Asian Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.
She lives with her beloved husband Nick in Redwood City, California, where she can often be found dancing, gardening, listening to birdsong, and hiking in nature.
Ekabhumi is an award-winning poet, author, illustrator, yoga instructor and arts educator with 18 years of international teaching experience. Through a ritualized and meditative creative method, he makes artworks for ceremonial and educational use that help people deepen their spiritual practice, recognize the divinity of common experiences, and find meaning in the beauty of our world. His artworks may be found in yoga studios, private homes, and on altars around the world. He is currently part of the core faculty of livingsanskrit.com.
His name was given by his first guru during a formal initiation ceremony into a tantric yoga lineage in 2005. Since that time, he has studied with many spiritual teachers and traditional artists both in India and the States. His art teachers include eminent western figurative painters like Domenic Cretara, as well as Newar artist Dinesh Charan Shrestha, Bikaner-style miniature painter Mahaveer Swami, Thangka painter Andy Weber, and yantra painter Mavis Gewant.
Ekabhumi’s writing and artwork has been published widely, appearing in anthologies and journals like The Poetry of Yoga, Berkeley Fiction Review, and Pearl, as well as books like Tantra Illuminated by Christopher Hareesh Wallis and Awakening Shakti by Sally Kempton. His instructional Shakti Coloring Book and the uplifting Bhakti Coloring Book are now available world-wide from Sounds True Press.
Though his first love is the arts, he has a wide range of interests that are reflected in his many past occupations: event producer, stock options broker, handyman, journalist, ski boot fitter, competitive surfer and champion sailor. He toured internationally as a performance poet, and the poets he coached won numerous regional and national titles. He facilitated writer’s groups, hosted poetry readings, and organized spoken-word festivals for nearly 20 years, culminating in the acclaimed 2009 Individual World Poetry Slam.
Ekabhumi is an inspiring, playful yet methodical teacher who helps students cultivate deeper intuitive states. For nearly two decades, he variously taught yoga, painting, public speaking, and creative writing to students ranging from kindergarten to post-graduate level. Much of his time is now spent creating educational material about interpreting, making, and utilizing sacred art of the dharma traditions. On weekends, he can be found in his garden practicing silence and learning directly from Nature.
Hema Patankar has spent her life immersed in study, practice and service to the Vedic tradition. It began when she was a teenager irresistibly attracted to the sound of Sanskrit and images of yogis who had become profoundly wise and blissful through meditation.
An alumni of a gurukula in Western India, Hema spent over 30 years intimately engaged with the traditions that have emerged from the Vedas. She worked on research, translation, and editorial projects in the company of learned pandits and scholars. She assisted with yajnas – ancient fire ceremonies – and rituals, which allowed her to get extraordinarily close to the living practice of Vedic traditions. She immersed herself in the sādhana of singing Sanskrit hymns and the songs of the poet saints, which she studied intensively with her Gurus and traditional devotional singers. She became known for devotional singing, and taught students from around the world.
Hema has a passion for the preservation of sacred Vedic heritage. For several years she was the Executive Director of the Muktabodha Indological Research Institute. There she spearheaded the development of an extensive online collection of rare Sanskrit texts. She nurtured the establishment of a traditional Vedic school where an endangered branch of the Vedas is preserved. She also directed the video documentation of remarkable Vedic rituals and brought rare texts on Śaiva philosophy and Vedic ritual to publication.
She later studied traditional Āyūrveda and earned a Vaidya Bhusana (vaidyabhūṣaṇa) Ayurvedic Practitioner degree. She is President of the Board of Trustees of Vedika Global, a school for the study and practice of traditional Āyūrveda and Vedic sciences. She has published articles on Āyūrveda, the Bhakti tradition, and the preservation of Vedic manuscripts. Most recently she edited a text on Vedic full and new moon rituals. Her current writing focuses on the intersection of living Ayurveda with the rituals and philosophy of the Vedic tradition.