Hercules was sitting by himself on the hill again, begging the gods to make him normal as the tears rolled down his cheeks. He had just caused another catastrophe in town, destroying the town market and injuring two villagers by throwing a small pebble at the walls. Of course this was all by accident for he never wished harm on any person. His strength was just far too strong for a young boy to master and control.
His father came up behind the little hero and sat beside him in the grass, pulling him onto his lap and comforting him.
"Papa, why am I so different than all of the other boys? I don't like making so many people upset with me", said Hercules.
His father replied, "You were sent to us from the gods for a reason, my son. You may not see it yet, but one day you will save countless numbers of people, much more than you have upset. Let me tell you a story about another young hero that grew up in a village similar to ours.
"His name was Krishna and, like you, he had been sent from the gods to his parents. His parents realized how important he was and hid him from the mad king by giving him away to a different couple. This couple raised him in a small village where he soon got into even more trouble than you.
Like you, Krishna's adoptive parents realized that their son was no ordinary boy at a very early age. One day while his mother was washing clothes in the river, Krishna had crawled away from the blanket he was set on. When his mother heard screams about a runaway cart, she realized her son was missing and went running to find him. However, when she found her baby the runaway cart had already been tossed aside and now lied in pieces. She asked the witnesses who to thank for saving her son, but everyone replied that he had stopped the cart himself.
Once Krishna was few years older, his mother witnessed another incident that left her without any doubt that her son would one day be a great hero. Krishna's brother had come in the house, telling his mom that Krishna had been eating mud again. Immediately the mother came outside and demanded the young boy to open his mouth. When he complied with the request, Krishna's mother saw something much greater than mud in her son's mouth. She saw the entire universe, galaxies swirling and planets revolving. She would have gone into madness if she had stared any longer at the miracle before her, but little Krishna closed his mouth just in time to save his mother's mind.
These are only a couple of the feats that Krishna performed as a child. Although the other kids and adults in the village were uneasy of his gifts at first, they came to love him and later on ask for his help to save their homes."
"Wow, Papa. Krishna is so amazing! I had no idea there were other kids like me. Please tell me more stories about him", Hercules gushed as his father finished speaking. The tears had stopped falling and in their place was an excited smile.
"Another day, my son. Krishna defeats many monsters like giant snakes, vampires, and other demons, but right now it is dinner time. Let's go back to the house before your mother begins worrying."
Author's Note: I couldn't help drawing parallels between young Krishna and Hercules as I did the reading for this week. There are just so many similarities it's crazy. To be honest I am drawing most of my knowledge about Hercules from the Disney movies, but I still think there are similarities. There are both young demi-god heroes that live with adoptive parents in small villages. Because this story was so easy to write and there are so many interesting stories about young Krishna, I might write a sequel next week about young Hercules.
Bibliography: Epified Krishna Videos,
Part A
Image: Yasoda with Krishna,
Wikimedia Commons
The elephant, Kuvalayapida sent to attack Krishna also stood out to me for the same reasons. Here is this animal that is known to be aggressive and is forced to be a tool in massive warfare. It's no wonder that he doesn't let any human come near him! I would like to write a story in which Krishna shows this elephant kindness as well.
