Hercules' father was sitting inside when his son came running into their home. The little boy had come home after finishing his lessons for the day. He rushed to where his father sat and jumped up on his lap.
"Will you tell me another story about Krishna?", he pleaded.
"Of course", his father replied, laughing, "I wish you were this enthusiastic to hear from your teachers. Which story would you like to hear? He has defeated monsters, defended his village from destructive gods, and married many beautiful women."
"Are there any with animals?", Hercules asked.
"Hmmm. Oh yes, perhaps two of the most important stories of all involved a bull and an elephant. I should have known you would want to hear these tales. You always did have a soft spot for fellow creatures."
As they both got comfortable, the father began the story:
"In Krishna's village there lived these incredibly mean bull, named Hastin. It was so aggressive that few in town would even go near it. One day, Krishna came upon his brother bragging to the townspeople that he was going to kill this beast with one powerful punch.
As a lover of all god's creatures, Krishna was horrified. He interrupted his brother, saying that instead of allowing them to harm the animal, he would safely ride Hastin by the end of the month.
Starting that day, Krishna sat near Hastin's stable, playing his soft flute music and slowly gaining the bull's trust. He started by slowly moving closer and closer to the creature, then giving him food and treats, until Hastin finally allowed Krishna to touch him.
On the last day of the month, the village was having a large festival. Krishna came barreling through the middle of twon on the back of the crazed bull. Everyone ran after him to see how this act would end. However, instead of throwing young Krishna and maiming him, Hastin eventually grew tired and allowed the boy to ride him."
"Oh, wow", said Hercules. "But when does the the elephant come in to the story?"
"Have patience, my son. I knew you would be especially interested in the elephant so I saved it for last.
"Now when Krishna had grown older, his destiny was to defeat his uncle, the evil King Kamsa. When the time came for him to fulfill this prophecy, he traveled far away from his home to the great city of Mathura.
Alas, King Kamsa knew of the prophesies and had heard of Krishna's coming, so he sent a terrifying elephant, Kuvalaypida, to the gates of the city to kill the young warrior. This elephant was so large and violent that none of the king's guards could control it. It's sole purpose was to rampage through the battlefields during times of war.
Yet, this elephant was no match for the strong and agile Krishna. He dodged its every attack as the creature attempted to trample him. He grabbed Kuvalayapida by the trunk and flung him aside, but the animal came running back. In this moment, Krishna knew that he could easily kill this beast, but his mind returned to the bull, Hastin, from his home village.
Krishna reacted quickly to tear down some thick vines from the nearest trees. He then tripped the great elephant and tied up its legs so fast that those watching say he disappeared for the moment. When he was seen again, Kuvalayapida was lying on the ground with its legs and trunk bound by the vines.
After defeating King Kamsa, Krishna returned to this elephant and treated it in the same way he treated Hastin years ago. He slowly gained its trust until it became one of the most docile creatures in the kingdom. Kuvalayapida remained Krishna's favorite royal elephant, riding it for all of the festivals and parades.
So, my son, what is the moral of both these stories?", asked the father.
After a long pause and a puzzled look from Hercules, the father spoke up again. "Kindness is ultimate strength."
Author's Note: So I continued my theme of a young Hercules from last week, although I drew more stories from part B of the Epified videos this time. These two stories of Krishna really stood out to me while reading because I am such an animal lover. I understand that a lot of times when animals act out aggressively, it is because they are hurt or afraid. I also think that kindness and humility are two of Krishna's best qualities. I did alter the story of the elephant to add a happy ending. In the Indian epics he actually just kills Kuvalayapida with one punch (hypocritical right?).
Bibliography: Epified Krishna Videos,
Part B
Image: Be Kind to Every Kind,
Flickr
For my storybook this week I am writing about Surpanakha, so I decided to look on her Wikipedia page for any information that wasn't covered in our readings. One of the interesting things I looked into were her parents' history because I'm honestly still a little confused about the Rakshasa identifier in Indian literature. Is it a separate race or just a group of evil humans? Anyway so I clicked on her father, Vishrava first, and guess what? He is a powerful and respectable yogi! So why are Surpanakha and Ravana so evil? Her rakshasi mother, Kaikesi apparently schemed in order to cause Vishrava to leave his first wife and have four demonic children with her. From there I clicked on a link to the Rakshasa page where I sorted out all of the confusion I had. They are there own distinct race although they apparently have children with humans all the time. There is a negative connotation related to cannibalism (man eater is another name for them) although there are good rakshasas. Mainly their powers of illusion are what make them distinct from humans.
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