Lord Krishna appeared on earth at the stroke of midnight in the prison cell where his parents were kept hostage. He came in the form of Lord Vishnu. His parents prayed for Him to change Himself into an ordinary baby so they could hide Him from Kans, who had killed six sons before. The Lord advised Vasudev to take him to Vrindavan and exchange him with a girl that had just been born there. Then He transformed Himself into a baby.
Magically, the guards in Kans’ prison fell asleep, and all the iron shackles, chains and locks automatically opened. Without questioning this, Vasudev took the child and departed for Vrindavan. He crossed the Jamuna River with waters rising higher than Vasudev himself. At one point the water almost covered Vasudev. He prayed and as he did so, the baby who was in a basket on Vasusdev’s head, simply put his feet out of the basket, touched the waters which parted immediately.
When Vasudev reached the house of Nand, all the cowherds were asleep. Thus he placed his own son on the bed of Yashoda, picked up her newborn girl and returned to the prison of Kans.
There was a chance that Kans would spare the child because the omen said it would be the eighth son that would kill him. Devaki pleaded with him, but Kans pulled the baby girl from her arms and dashed her against a stone. The girl slipped from his hands and rose above his head as the eight-armed form of Goddess Durga, dressed in fine garments and jewels. She said, “The enemy you contemplate is living somewhere else. You are a fool to hurt innocent children. Krishna will kill you.”
Indeed , Lord Krishna did champion the cause of many devotees of His time.
